At the beginning of 2020 the world shocked by the newsthat the giant red star Betelgeuse suddenly and very much dimmed. For terrestrial science, this was a real challenge. The brightness of Betelgeuse has been monitored for about 200 years, clearly fixing the 400-day rhythm in its change. Many generations of scientists have become accustomed to the stable behavior of this star in the constellation of Orion, so astronomers have been taken by surprise by what is happening. They searched for a clue for a year and a half.
Image Source: NASA, ESA, Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI)
By the summer of 2021, numerous observations made it possible to make conclusionthat Betelgeuse dimmed by nearly 40% due to a colossal ejection of surface mass, which not only weakened the photosphere of the red star swelling in anticipation of its death, but also turned into a relatively cold cloud of dust as it cooled, which also partially weakened the brightness of Betelgeuse.
The solution did not reduce the degree of interest in Betelgeuse, and scientists continued their observations by connecting the Hubble space observatory to the process. Moreover, in the course of time they plan to use the latest infrared space observatory “James Webb” in observations of this star. Unlike Hubble, Webb’s infrared sensors will be able to detect even a cooling cloud of dust from the ejection of the star’s surface mass. This will complement the picture of what is happening and will allow you to better understand the ongoing processes.
Hubble observations made it possible to see how Betelgeuse gradually restores lost photosphere and luminosity. The collected data allow scientists, with a known error, to restore the sequence of events that occurred with Betelgeuse at the time of the release. Externally, the star looks almost the same as before, before the titanic surface mass ejection, which was 400 billion times more abundant than a normal coronal ejection on our Sun. But the analysis of the photosphere makes us believe that inside the star everything has gone awry – “she’s buzzing inside like a bell”, according to one of the researchers. In any case, the star has ceased to obey the 400-day cycle of luminosity, which astronomers have celebrated for almost two centuries in a row.
The Betelgeuse photosphere would extend to the orbit of Jupiter in our system. Image Source: ESO
At the same time, astronomers believe that Betelgeuse is not yet on the verge of becoming a supernova. By astronomical standards, this event will happen any day, but for terrestrial science, hundreds, thousands of years (maybe even tens of thousands of years) will pass until Betelgeuse flashes so brightly that it will be visible even during the day in the earth’s sky.
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