A close companion to Betelgeuse is probably detected
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Speckle imaging with the 'Alopeke instrument on the 8.1-metre Gemini North telescope produced what its authors describe as the probable direct detection of a stellar companion to Betelgeuse - roughly 1.5 solar masses, some six magnitudes fainter in the optical, apparently a hot pre-main-sequence star, orbiting at a separation of order four astronomical units with a period near six years. A 2020 observation taken during the Great Dimming, when the companion was predicted to lie in front of or behind the star, showed nothing; the 2024 observation found it where the prediction placed it. The companion is expected to be drawn into the supergiant.
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Timeline
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Connections · 2
- Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis)concerns
- Gemini North telescope, Maunakeaconcerns
Assembled narrative · 1
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Observed changes · 0
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/atlas?object=EVT_BETELGEUSE_COMPANION_2025