“Hubble Reveals Hidden Star Behind Betelgeuse”
For many years, astronomers have been curious about Betelgeuse, a famous red supergiant star. Behind it, they noticed a strange wake—a long, comet-like trail of gas stretching through space. Scientists didn’t know what was causing this unusual feature.
Now, new observations from the Hubble Space Telescope have provided an important clue. Researchers found evidence that the wake may be shaped by a hidden companion star moving nearby, but just out of sight. This smaller star’s gravity could be influencing the gas around Betelgeuse, creating the strange trail.
This discovery helps explain some of Betelgeuse’s dramatic and unusual behavior, including changes in its brightness and the patterns of gas around it. It also gives scientists a better understanding of how massive stars interact with each other in complex star systems.
By studying Betelgeuse and its mysterious companion, astronomers hop
