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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse
Explanation: Betelgeuse (sounds a lot like “beetle juice”), a red supergiant star about 600 light years distant, is seen in this Hubble Space Telescope image - the first direct picture of the surface of a star other than the Sun. While Betelgeuse is cooler than the Sun , it is more massive and over 1000 times larger. If placed at the center of our Solar System , it would extend past the orbit of Jupiter. Betelgeuse is also known as Alpha Orionis, one of the brightest stars in the familiar constellation of Orion, the Hunter . The name Betelgeuse is Arabic in origin. As a massive red supergiant, it is nearing the end of its life and will soon become a supernova . In this historic image, a bright hotspot is revealed on the star's surface.
| Date | June 5, 1999 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: A. Dupree (CfA), R. Gilliland (STScI), NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |