Hubble image archive
Disruption of the Red Supergiant Star Betelgeuse
This illustration plots changes in the brightness of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, following the titanic mass ejection of a large piece of its visible surface. The escaping material cooled to form a cloud of dust that temporarily made the star look dimmer, as seen from Eart...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2022
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2022-037-01g9z2g8hqw572wba8nbkd53wz
This illustration plots changes in the brightness of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, following the titanic mass ejection of a large piece of its visible surface. The escaping material cooled to form a cloud of dust that temporarily made the star look dimmer, as seen from Earth. This unprecedented stellar convulsion disrupted the monster star’s 400-day-long oscillation period that astronomers had measured for more than 200 years. The interior may now be jiggling like a plate of gelatin dessert.
Credits
Illustration
NASA, ESA, Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI)
Downloads
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov