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The luminous orange ball is prayer. The weak blue smear. His accompanying star, which was seen for the first time by the Alopeke instrument on the Gemini North Telescope. | Credit: International Gemini Observatory/Noirlab/NSF/Auraimage Processing: M. Zamani (NSF Noirlab)
After a long wait, astronomers have finally seen the outstanding companion of the famous star Betelguse. This accompanying star circles Betelgeuse in an incredibly narrow orbit that could explain one of Betelgeus’ long -term secrets. However, the star is doomed to failure, and the team behind this discovery predicts that Betelgeuse will oversee it in a few thousand years.
The fact that Betelgreuse is one of the brightest stars in the sky above the earth and is visible with the naked eye has made it one of the most famous celestial bodies. And since the first astronomers began inspecting this game in the night sky, they have been amazed that its brightness varied over a period of six years.
This secret has now been solved.
Observations of Betelgeuse and for the first time its companion star, as the Alopeke instrument can be seen at the Gemini North telescope in December. 2024. | Credit: International Gemini Observatory/Noirlab/NSF/Auraimage Processing: M. Zamani (NSF Noirlab)
The six-year dimming of this red supergiant star must not be confused with an event in which it has dropped strongly in the years 2019 and 2020. This event, which is known as “Great Dimming”, raised intensive interest worldwide. The big dimming was so unexpected that some scientists theorize that it approached the Supernova explosion, which one day marks the end of his life.
This supernova speculation was justified. Although it is only about 10 million years old, the fact that Betelgeuse is 700 times the size of the sun, burned its nuclear fuel much faster than our 4.6-billion star. This means that his supernova death is probably approaching. In 2023, however, the great dimmer was explained by a huge dust cloud emitted by Betelgeeus.
Although the secret of the great dimming was solved, this event aroused another interest in this always familiar star, the tenth brightest in the night sky. The desire of the astronomers was part of this renewed interest to solve the less dramatic but more regular dimension of Betelgüuse.
The lower dimming of Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse has a primary variability time that lasts around 400 days, as well as a second, longer dimming phase of around six years.
In contrast to The Great Dimming, which amazed scientists for only a few years, this regular “heartbeat” from Betelgeuse has amazed humanity for thousands of years!
During the review of the archive data, scientists began to theorize that the six -year variability of Betelgeuse could be the work of a hidden accompanying star. A deeper examination with the Hubble world space telescope and the NASA X-rays’ world-style observatory had the scientists emptied with empty hands in terms of a companion star.
The location of Betelgeuse and his companion star in their location in the night sky | Credit: International Gemini Observatory/Noirlab/NSF/Auraimage Processing: M. Zamani (NSF Noirlab)
The scientist of NASA Ames Research Center, Steve Howell, led a team of astrophysicists, who led Betelgeeus with the Gemini North Telescope and its Alopeke (Hawaiian for “Fox”) a team of astrophysic.
“Gemini North’s ability to maintain high angle resolutions and sharp contrasts made it possible for the companion of the Betelguse to be recognized directly,” said Howell in a statement. “Papers that Betelgeus accompanied predicted believed that nobody would ever be able to present it.”
The alopeke instrument uses a technique in astronomy, which is referred to as “Speckle imaging”, the short exposure times used to remove distortions from images caused by the earth’s atmosphere. This provided the Gemini North Telescope the high -resolution ability to recognize the weak companion of the Betelguse for the first time.
Howell and colleagues were able to introduce more than just the companion of the Betelgeus star. They were also able to determine some of its properties.
What do we know about Betelgeus companions?
The team believes that the star has a mass of about 1.5 times the sun and that it is a hot blue-white star that is quite close to binary stars at a distance that corresponds to four times the distance between earth and the sun. This means that it exists in the extended atmosphere of Betelgeeus. This is the first time that a companion star was recognized so close to a red supergiant.
The team also theorizes that this star has not yet started to burn hydrogen at its core, the process that defines the main life life of a star. Thus, the Betelguse system seems to consist of two stars that exist at opposite ends of their lives, although both stars have been formed at the same time!
This is because larger and more massive stars not only burn their nuclear fuel faster. They also initiate the merger from hydrogen to helium. In this case, however, this delay does not mean that Betelgeus’s companion is able to live a long life. The intensive gravity of Betelgereuse probably pulls the smaller star into it and devours it.
The team estimates that this cannibalistic event could take place in the next 10,000 years.
In the meantime, in November 2027, astronomers will take another look at the outstanding companion of Betelgeuse when he achieves a maximum separation from the infamous red super giant star.
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In addition to the effects of research on the prayer, scientists tell more about why red super giants in brightness are regularly changed, as many years of time.
“This detection was on the extreme extremes of what can be achieved with Gemini in terms of imaging with high angle resolution, and it worked,” said Howell. “This now opens the door for other observation activities of a similar kind.”
The team’s research was published on Monday (July 21) in two works in the Astrophysical Journal.
