Betelgeuse is one of the night sky's brightest stars and easily can be observed from Earth with the naked eye. Its fluctuations in brightness have long puzzled astronomers, however. Now, researchers ...

Here's how a new discovery sheds light on a cosmic mystery.

But this orbital dance has a darker future. Over time, tidal forces continue to drain energy from Siwarha’s orbit, pulling it closer to the red supergiant. Eventually, the smaller star will spiral ...

Astronomers have observed what they believe to be a never-before-seen companion star orbiting Betelgeuse, a pulsating red supergiant star in the shoulder of the Orion constellation. One of the best ...

The companion star of Betelgeuse, seen for the first time by the Gemini North Telescope. "This discovery answers the ...

Astronomers have uncovered the long-hidden cause behind Betelgeuse’s strange behavior: a small companion star carving a visible wake through the giant’s vast atmosphere. Using nearly eight years of ...

PHOENIX — Like a motorboat doing doughnuts in a lake, Betelgeuse’s companion star leaves a wake in the giant star’s atmosphere. Signs of the smaller star’s trail around the red supergiant are the best ...

Despite its youth—just ten million years old— Betelgeuse is already nearing the end of its life. Its surface constantly boils with giant convective cells, and it swells and shrinks every 400 days, ...