Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

Betelgeuse and Wake of its Companion Star (Artist’s Concept)

An illustration of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, its companion star, and a dusty wake. The disk of a red-orange star is in the center. It is surrounded by a diffuse orange cloud representing its extended atmosphere. Below it about one stellar diameter away is a yellow dot representing a smaller companion star. From the companion, a dark red cloud wraps around in a counterclockwise direction. It begins very narrow and expands as it gets further from the companion, finally disappearing at the outer edge of the diffuse orange cloud around 10 o’clock. The words “artist’s concept” are at lower right.

This artist’s concept shows the red supergiant star Betelgeuse and an orbiting companion star. The companion, which is orbiting clockwise from this point of view, generates a dense wake of gas that expands outward. It is so close to Betelgeuse that it is passing through the extended outer atmosphere of the supergiant. The companion star is not to scale; it would be a pinprick compared to Betelgeuse, which is hundreds of times larger. The companion’s distance from Betelgeuse is to scale relative to the diameter of Betelgeuse.

  • Release Date
    January 5, 2026
  • Science Release
    NASA Hubble Helps Detect ‘Wake’ of Betelgeuse’s Elusive Companion Star
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Artwork: NASA, ESA, Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI); Science: Andrea Dupree (CfA)

Downloads

  • Full Res - Watermarked "Artist's Concept" (For Print), 3840 × 2160
    tif (4.3 MB)
  • Full Res (For Print), 3840 × 2160
    tif (4.28 MB)
  • Full Res - Watermarked "Artist's Concept" (For Display), 3840 × 2160
    jpg (581.12 KB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 3840 × 2160
    jpg (1.41 MB)
  • 2000 × 1125
    jpg (197.76 KB)

Related Images & Videos

A graphic titled u201cBetelgeuse: Effect of Companion Star Wakeu201d with a subtitle u201cSpectrum of Light Emitted by Iron (Fe II).u201d A graph plots brightness versus wavelength of light.

Betelgeuse: Effect of Companion Star Wake

Scientists used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to look for evidence of a wake being generated by a companion star orbiting Betelgeuse. The team found a noticeable difference in light shown in the lefthand peak when the companion star was at different points in its orbit.

Share

Details

Last Updated
Jan 05, 2026
Location
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From Hubble

Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Hubble Science Highlights

Hubble Images

Hubble News