ESO / M. Montargès et al.
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Astronomers working with the VLT telescope received a new image of the super giant Betelgeuse, whose brightness has fallen to a minimum level over the past half century. This made it possible to see a decrease in the brightness of the star and a change in its visible shape, reported on the site of the European Southern Observatory.
Red supergiant Betelgeuse It is considered the ninth brightest star in the sky and is located in the constellation Orion, at a distance of about 600-700 light years from Earth. The mass of the star is about 15 solar masses, and the volume is about a billion times greater than the solar mass. If Betelgeuse is placed in the center of the solar system, it will fill the orbit of Mars or even Jupiter.
Betelgeuse’s brightness variations were first noticed by William Herschel in the 19th century, and in 2009 it turned outthat over the past 15 years, the apparent brightness of the star has decreased by 15 percent. This may mean that the star either periodically pulsates, or is at the final stage of its evolution, or it is an artifact of observations. In December last year, the brightness of the star reached its minimum level in the entire history of observations using electronic receivers: the apparent Betelgeuse magnitude decreased to 1.125. Betelgeuse’s sheen has now fallen 36 percent of her usual brightness. You can learn more about why Betelgeuse grows dull from our material. “The clock is ticking”.
–Comparison of the brightness and visible shape of Betelgeuse in January and December 2019
ESO / M. Montargès et al.
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-Many telescopes are currently watching a faded supergiant, one of them is the VLT complex (Very Large Telescope) with receivers SPHERE and Visirlocated in Chile. With it, astronomers are trying to understand what is happening with the star.
A comparison of two Betelgeuse images made in the visible range in January and December 2019 made it possible to see a decrease in the brightness of the star and a change in its visible shape. An infrared image of the vicinity of Betelgeuse, made in December last year, allowed astronomers to see the giant fibers of heated dust ejected by the star.
Now scientists are considering two scenarios of what is happening: a sharp cooling of the star’s surface due to strong pulsations of the star and convective processes, and an extensive emission of dust towards the Earth’s observer.
Earlier we talked about how the ALMA radio telescope got Betelgeuse image and how astronomers suspected star in the absorption of his companion, which is why it rotates about 150 times faster than expected.
Alexander Voytyuk
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