Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse
(sounds a lot like "beetle juice"),
a red supergiant star about 600 light years distant, is seen in
this Hubble Space Telescope image
- the first direct
picture of the surface of a star other than the Sun.
While
Betelgeuse is
cooler than the Sun,
it is more massive and over 1000 times larger.
If placed at the center of
our Solar System,
it would extend past the orbit of Jupiter.
Betelgeuse is also known as Alpha Orionis, one of the
brightest stars
in the familiar constellation of
Orion, the Hunter.
The name Betelgeuse is
Arabic in origin.
As a massive red supergiant, it is
nearing the end of its life and will soon become a
supernova.
In this historic image,
a bright hotspot is revealed on the star's surface.