The star unexpectedly dimmed in 2019.
Astronomers have long believed that the Betelgeuse star is the most likely candidate for a supernova in the Milky Way. However, it appears that the red supergiant from the constellation Orion is gradually recovering after a mysterious eclipse in 2019, Space.com reports. Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, but in 2019 it began to mysteriously dim. Scientists analyzing data from the Hubble telescope and other observatories believe that the star is still recovering from this event.
Researchers have reconstructed the sequence of what happened to the star, and believe it underwent a giant surface plasma ejection (SME), which ejected a chunk of Betelgeuse's visible surface. The event was so massive that it ejected 400 billion times more mass than a typical coronal mass ejection (CME) on the Sun.
According to scientists, the SME created a giant cloud of dust that caused the eclipse. The star is now recovering, but still suffering from the effects of the catastrophic event.
“Betelgeuse continues to do some very unusual things even now; the inner part seems to bounce,” said the lead author of the study Andrea Dupree from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Observations show that the photosphere of the star – the lower and visible layer of the atmosphere – is being rearranged. The usual 400-day period of Betelgeuse eclipses has disappeared, perhaps temporarily. Astronomers watched these changes in the star's brightness for 200 years to measure the Betelgeuse eclipse.
The Betelgeuse explosion may have been caused by a convective plume more than a million miles (1.6 million kilometers) in diameter erupting from deep within the star. The plume could disrupt regular convection cells, leading to a regular pulsation.
The SME was an event on a scale never before observed by scientists. This suggests that SME and SME are different events. It also provides unprecedented new insights into the life of giant stars.
Related video
Despite the hype that has built up in 2019, there is no indication that Betelgeuse will explode as a supernova anytime soon. However, if it does happen, the death of Betelgeuse will be visible from Earth even during the day.
