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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.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse

Explanation: 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 . A bright, as yet unexplained hotspot is revealed on its surface! 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 familar constellation of Orion, the Hunter . Like many star names , Betelgeuse is Arabic in origin. It is derived from a phrase which refers to the hunter's shoulder or armpit, the general area occupied by this star in drawings of the figure in the constellation . As a massive red supergiant, it is nearing the end of its life and will soon become a supernova .

Date February 16, 1997
Credit Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse
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.