Giant Star Betelgeuse Gains a Companion ⚡ экспресс
The red supergiant Betelgeuse likely has a companion, Siwarha, orbiting once every 2000 days at just 2.3 stellar radii. Spectral observations show that after the companion transits the star’s disk, absorption in manganese lines and mass outflow (iron, silicon, magnesium) increase, then fade until the next transit. These changes resemble the spreading wake of a boat in the star’s inner atmosphere, confirming a satellite literally 'rowing' through its envelope.
Betelgeuse is a giant star ready to explode as a supernova. But it may not be alone: a small companion star, Sivarkha, circles in a tight orbit. Every 2000 days, it plunges through Betelgeuse’s outer layers, like a boat cutting through water, leaving waves of superheated gas.
Astronomers spotted this by breaking Betelgeuse’s light into colors — the method of spectroscopy reveals the subtlest motions of matter. The star's flickering, which puzzled scientists, is now explained. Remarkably, though Betelgeuse would stretch from the Sun to Jupiter’s orbit, its outer shell is cooler than our star’s surface. That lets the companion survive each close pass. Watching this cosmic dance brings us closer to understanding the final fate of massive stars.
🎯 Betelgeuse is so vast that if you placed its center where the Sun is, its surface would reach the orbit of Jupiter.
🎬 In the novel 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' one of the planets orbits Betelgeuse.