Betelgeuse is the tenth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star found in the constellation Orion, located at the eastern shoulder of the hunter. At near-infrared wavelengths, however, the rust-colored star is the brightest star in the sky.
It is a distinctly reddish semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude, varying between +0.0 and +1.6, has the widest range displayed by any first-magnitude star. At near-infrared wavelengths, Betelgeuse is the brightest star in the night sky.
How far away is Betelgeuse from Orion?
After Rigel, Orion ‘s brightest star, Betelgeuse is the most distant of the 10 brightest stars in the sky. The currently accepted distance for Betelgeuse is between 643 and 724 light years, depending on the source.
Because it varies in magnitude, Betelgeuse occasionally surpasses Procyon in Canis Minor in brightness and becomes the seventh brightest star in the sky. When at its brightest, Betelgeuse outshines Rigel, the brightest star in Orion, and becomes the sixth brightest star in the sky.
What are Betelgeuse’s HotSpots?
Interferometric observations of Betelgeuse have shown hotspots that are thought to be created by massive convection cells, a significant fraction of the diameter of the star and each emitting 5–10% of the total light of the star.
What is Betelgeuse made of?
Betelgeuse is surrounded by an intricate envelope about 250 times the star’s size, composed of material lost from the star. The vast dust and gas shells extend almost 20,000 astronomical units away from the star.
What are Betelgeuse and Bellatrix?
Betelgeuse and Bellatrix mark the two shoulders of Orion, the Hunter. Betelgeuse, marking the right shoulder, lies in the upper left corner of the constellation from our point view. It is one of the largest and most luminous stars known.
What is the Chinese name for Betelgeuse?
In traditional Chinese astronomy, the name for Betelgeuse is 参宿四 ( Shēnxiùsì, the Fourth Star of the constellation of Three Stars) as the Chinese constellation 参宿 originally referred to the three stars in the girdle of Orion. This constellation was ultimately expanded to ten stars, but the earlier name stuck.
The Chinese know Betelgeuse as 参宿四 ( Shēnxiùsì ), or the Fourth Star of the Constellation of Three Stars. The constellation originally included only the three stars of Orion’s Belt ( Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka ), but was later expanded to include other bright stars of Orion.