Betelgeuse's Newly Discovered Companion Star Revealed
Astronomers using the 'Alopeke speckle imager on the Gemini North Telescope have directly imaged a previously hypothesized companion star to Betelgeuse, located approximately 4 AU away. The discovery sheds light on Betelgeuse's variability cycle and hints at its future evolution.
Using the Gemini North Telescope's speckle imager, 'Alopeke, astronomers directly imaged a previously hypothesized companion star to Betelgeuse, located approximately 4 AU from the red supergiant.
The companion star is estimated to be an A- or B-type pre-main sequence star with approximately 1.5 solar masses, significantly fainter than Betelgeuse in visible light.
The discovery offers a potential explanation for Betelgeuse's six-year variability cycle, suggesting the companion's influence on dust distribution within the red supergiant's extended atmosphere.
This close binary system's future involves the eventual consumption of the companion star by Betelgeuse within the next 10,000 years, potentially affecting Betelgeuse's evolutionary timeline and supernova event.
On July 21, 2025, NSF NOIRLab issued a press release stating that astronomers had detected a long-anticipated companion star to the red supergiant Betelgeuse. The team of astrophysicists, led by Steve Howell, senior research scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, observed Betelgeuse’s companion using ‘Alopeke, a speckle imager mounted on the Gemini North Telescope located atop Maunakea in Hawai‘i.
Keywords: Betelgeuse, companion star, Gemini North Telescope, ‘Alopeke, red supergiant, pre-main sequence star, supernova.
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