Paper Backs 3-Solar-Mass Betelgeuse B Orbiting Betelgeuse A
Updated
Updated · Scientific American · Aug 14
Paper Backs 3-Solar-Mass Betelgeuse B Orbiting Betelgeuse A
3 articles · Updated · Scientific American · Aug 14
Summary
A new Astronomy and Astrophysics paper strongly supports a companion star to Betelgeuse, identifying Betelgeuse B as a luminous object about three times the sun’s mass.
2024 observations found the object close enough to Betelgeuse A that its light had long been lost in the red supergiant’s glare, potentially explaining the star’s unexplained six-year brightness cycle.
A decisive test is set for 2027: if the object appears on the opposite side of Betelgeuse from its 2024 position, astronomers can confirm it as a binary companion.
If confirmed, Betelgeuse B would orbit at least 1.3 billion kilometers from Betelgeuse A—roughly Saturn’s distance from the sun—offering a rare nearby laboratory for studying how a companion might endure a future supernova.