Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse! Astronomers capture clearest image yet of famous star's elusive companion - Space

What the report says

Space.com reported that astronomers using the Very Large Telescope in northern Chile’s Atacama Desert have obtained the clearest direct image so far of what appears to be a companion star orbiting Betelgeuse, the well-known red star in Orion. The finding strengthens the case that Betelgeuse is not a single star but a binary system, with the red supergiant designated Betelgeuse A and the possible companion Betelgeuse B.

The work was led by Miguel Montargès of the Observatoire de Paris, according to the report, and follows two 2024 papers that predicted the companion would be farthest from Betelgeuse A in December of that year. Using that timing, the team searched with the VLT’s SPHERE instrument, whose coronagraph and adaptive optics can suppress glare and reveal faint nearby objects. Space.com said the observations suggest the companion may be two to three times the mass of the sun, larger than earlier expectations that placed it closer to solar mass.

Betelgeuse, about 650 light-years from Earth, has long attracted attention because of its visible brightness changes, including dimming that astronomers have tried to explain for roughly a century with the possibility of an unseen companion. The new image is not yet treated as final proof: Montargès’ team still wants another observation, expected after the object moves to the other side of Betelgeuse, to confirm it is truly bound to the red supergiant.

The result matters because a companion could affect how Betelgeuse evolves as it nears the late stages of its life. Space.com reported the research was published July 28 in Astronomy & Astrophysics.