Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2020 February 17
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                  The Changing Surface of Fading Betelgeuse
                 Image Credit: [3]ESO, M. Montargès et al.

   Explanation: Besides fading, is Betelgeuse changing its appearance?
   Yes. The famous red supergiant star in the [4]familiar constellation of
   Orion is [5]so large that telescopes on Earth can actually resolve its
   surface -- although just barely. The two [6]featured images taken with
   the [7]European Southern Observatory's [8]Very Large Telescope show how
   the star's surface appeared during the beginning and end of last year.
   The earlier image shows [9]Betelgeuse having a much more uniform
   brightness than the later one, while the lower half of [10]Betelgeuse
   became significantly dimmer than the top. Now during the first five
   months of 2019 [11]amateur observations show Betelgeuse actually got
   slightly brighter, while in the last five months the star dimmed
   dramatically. Such variability is likely just [12]normal behavior for
   this famously variable [13]supergiant, but the recent dimming has
   rekindled discussion on how long it may be before [14]Betelgeuse does
   go [15]supernova. Since [16]Betelgeuse is about 700 [17]light years
   away, its [18]eventual supernova -- probably thousands of years in the
   future -- will likely be an [19]amazing night-sky spectacle, but will
   [20]not endanger life on [21]Earth.

                      Tomorrow's picture: hunter stars
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    Authors & editors: [33]Robert Nemiroff ([34]MTU) & [35]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([36]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [37]Specific rights apply.
              [38]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [39]ASD at [40]NASA / [41]GSFC
                           & [42]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2002/Betelgeuse2019_ESO_1280.jpg
   3. https://www.eso.org/
   4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190821.html
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100106.html
   6. https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2003c/
   7. https://www.eso.org/
   8. https://www.eso.org/public/usa/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200101.html
  10. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/science/betelgeuse-pictures-supernova.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2001/AlphaOriLightCurve_AAVSO.jpg
  12. https://www.aavso.org/sites/default/files/images/LTbetelgeuse.jpg
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supergiant_star
  14. https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/dont-panic-betelgeuse-is-almost-certainly-not-about-to-explode
  15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aysiMbgml5g
  16. https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news-display.cfm?News_ID=560
  17. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/
  18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJPVuSNFxlY
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190218.html
  20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHKtnBeBHcU
  21. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/overview/
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200216.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  31. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200217
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200218.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  36. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  39. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  42. http://www.mtu.edu/