Giant Star Betelgeuse Gains a Companion ⚡ экспресс
Betelgeuse may have a tiny companion star orbiting inside its outer layers, like a stone creating ripples as it moves through water. After the companion passes in front of the star, we see enhanced gas flows, like a boat’s wake. Could such a hidden companion explain Betelgeuse’s mysterious dimmings?
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.