A new look at the boiling surface of Betelgeuse

  • Research
Published on March 27, 2024 – Updated on March 27, 2024
Dates

on the March 7, 2024

Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse

An international team led by astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, the Lagrange Laboratory (Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur-Université Côte d'Azur-CNRS) and Uppsala University has just published a new study of the bubbling surface of the supergiant star Betelgeuse.

Betelgeuse is a well-known red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. Recently, it has attracted a great deal of attention, not only because variations in its luminosity have led to speculation about an imminent explosion, but also because observations have indicated that it is rotating much faster than expected. This latter interpretation is now being challenged by an international team led by astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, the Lagrange Laboratory (Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur-Université Côte d'Azur-CNRS) and Uppsala University. The study suggests that Betelgeuse's bubbling surface could be mistaken for rotation, even with the most advanced telescopes. Other astronomers are actively analyzing new observational data to test such hypotheses.

Find out more on the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur website