BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Brad Klein reviews upcoming astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s ‘Backyard Astronomy Guy,’ Marty McGuire.
This week, a look at a new discovery about one of the brightest stars in the night sky, the red supergiant, Betelgeuse. It has long been known that the star seen at the upper left of the constellation, Orion, periodically dims and brightens.
A new study published in The Astrophysical Journal reveals that the red supergiant has a much smaller, dimmer, and younger companion star that one of the authors calls “Betelgeuse’s Betelbuddy.”
Its scientific name is Alpha Ori B. The interaction of the two stars is thought to account for the variability of Betelgeuse.
“So they finally have a better answer about why there's this periodic, but expected, dimming of the larger Betelgeuse star,” said McGuire.
The image that revealed the companion star was captured by the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. The constellation Orion is easily observed on Winter evenings from the Lehigh Valley.