Finally discovered Betelgeuse’s “girlfriend”

by Andrea
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Finally discovered Betelgeuse's “girlfriend”

Finally discovered Betelgeuse's “girlfriend”

Betelgeuse and his companion star. It appears blue here because, based on team analysis, it is probably a type A or B star, both bluish white due to its high temperatures.

Astronomers discovered a companion star in an incredibly intimate orbit around Betelgeuse, using the alopeke instrument coupled to the Gemini North telescope, a half of the Gemini international observatory.

This discovery solves the longtime mystery of star variation and provides information on the physical mechanisms underlying other variable red supergigants.

Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and the nearest red supergent to Earth. It has a huge volumewith a radius about 700 times higher than the Sun. Despite being only ten million years old, which is considered young for the standards of astronomy, is already at the end of his life.

Located on the shoulder of the constellation of Orionte, There are millennia that people watch betelgeuse with the naked eyenoting that the star changes brightness over time. Astronomers have established that Bethelgeuse has a main period of variability of about 400 days and a longer secondary period of about six years.

In 2019 and 2020, a sharp decrease in shine De Betelgeuse – An event referred to as the “big darkening”. The event led some people to think that the death of the star – by Supernova – was coming, but scientists were able to determine that the decrease in brightness was effectively caused by a large cloud of betelgeuse ejected dust.

The mystery of the great darkening was resolved, but the event aroused a renewed interest in Betelgeuse’s study, which raised new file data analyzes. An investigation led scientists to propose that the cause of Betelgeuse’s six -year variability was the presence of a companion star. But when the Hubble Space Telescope and the X -ray Observatory sought this mate, none was detected.

The companion star was now detected for the first time by a team of astrophysicists led by Steve Howellsenior researcher at NASA AMES Research Center and main author of what reports the discovery.

Observed betelgeuse using an instrument called ‘Facebook rins. ‘Alopeke, which means “Fox” in Hawaiian, is funded by PNN-EXPLORE (NASA -NSF Explanet Observational Research Program) and is coupled to the Gemini North telescope, a half of the Gemini international observatory.

The instrument uses very short exposure times to “freeze” distortions in the images caused by the earth’s atmosphere. This technique allows a high resolution that, when combined with the mirror collection power of 8.1 meters from Gemini North, allowed the Direct detection of the Betelgeuse companion.

Light analysis of the companion star allowed Howell and his team determine the characteristics of the companion star. Found that it is six magnitudes weaker than betelgeuse in the visible, has a estimated mass of about 1.5 times that of the sun and seems to be a main pre-sequence star of type A or B-a Hot, young and blue star which has not yet started the hydrogen combustion at its nucleus.

The companion is at a relatively short distance from the surface of Betelgeuse – about four times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. This discovery brand The first time a nearby stellar partner has been detected in an orbit of a supergent star. Even more impressive – the partner orbits well within Bethelgeuse’s extended outer atmosphere, proving the amazing alopeke resolution capabilities.

“Gemini North’s ability to get high angular resolutions and sharp contrasts has directly detected Betelgeuse’s companion,” says Howell. Moreover, he explains that ‘Alopeke did what no other telescope had done before: “The studies that predicted Betelgeuse’s companion said that no one would be able to photograph it.”

This discovery provides a clearer image of life and the future death of this red supergent. Betelgeuse and his companion star were born probably at the same time. However, the companion star will have a reduced life time, since Maré’s strong forces will make Espirale toward Betelgeuse and find his death therethat scientists estimate that it will occur in the next 10,000 years.

The discovery also helps to explain why similar supergigant stars can undergo periodic changes in their scale of many years. Howell shares his hope for further studies in this area: “This detection was done at the extremes of what can be achieved with Gemini in terms of high resolution angular images, and it has worked now the door to other similar observation initiatives.”

Martin Still, director of the NSF Program for International Observatory Gemini, adds: “The capabilities provided by the Gemini International Observatory remain a spectacular tool, open to all astronomers to a wide range of astronomical applications. The solution to the problem of Betelgeuse, which has been dragging on hundreds of years, will remain as a prominent feat.”

In November 2027 there will be another opportunity to study Bethelgeuse’s star partner, when he returns to his greatest separation from the red supergent and therefore when it is easier to detect. Howell and his team look forward to Betelgeuse’s observations before and during this event to better determine the nature of the companion.

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