Gemini North telescope, Maunakea
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An 8.1-metre optical and infrared telescope near the summit of Maunakea at about 4,213 m elevation, one half of the International Gemini Observatory. Observations with its speckle imager 'Alopeke in 2020 and 2024 produced the probable direct detection of Betelgeuse's long-suspected stellar companion, reported in 2025. Speckle imaging takes very short exposures to freeze atmospheric distortion, which is what allows a companion six magnitudes fainter than a first-magnitude supergiant to be separated from it. The 2020 observation, taken during the Great Dimming, showed nothing - as predicted, because the companion was then behind the star - and the 2024 observation found it at the predicted separation and position angle, which is what makes the detection persuasive rather than merely suggestive.
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- A close companion to Betelgeuse is probably detectedparticipated_in
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