Image of Betelgeuse’s surface taken in January 2019

When the red supergiant star Betelgeuse became visibly darker in late 2019 and early 2020, astronomers were puzzled. This image of the star was taken before Betelgeuse started to fade, using the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. When compared with later images, taken in December 2019, January 2020 and March 2020, it is clear that the southern region of the star dimmed significantly, before beginning to its normal brightness.

Astronomers now know that this unprecedented dimming was the result of a cloud of dust that emerged from the star.

An earlier version of this image was released in early 2020.

Źródło:

ESO/M. Montargès et al.

O zdjęciu

Identyfikator:eso2109f
Typ:Obserwacje
Data publikacji:16 czerwca 2021 17:00
Powiązane komunikaty:eso2109
Rozmiar:798 x 798 px

O obiekcie

Nazwa:Betelgeuse
Typ:Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Red Supergiant
Constellation:Orion
Kategoria:Stars

Formaty zdjęć

Wielki JPEG
38,3 KB

Współrzędne

Pozycja (RA):5 55 10.31
Pozycja (Dec):7° 24' 25.44"
Pole widzenia:0.00 x 0.00 arcminutes
Orientacja:North is -0.0° lewo of vertical

Kolory i filtry

PasmoDługość faliTeleskop
Optyczny
H-alpha
645 nmVery Large Telescope
SPHERE