The Atmosphere of Betelgeuse
This is the first direct image of a star other than the Sun, made with the Hubble Space Telescope. Called Alpha Orionis, or Betelgeuse, it is a red supergiant star marking the shoulder of the winter constellation Orion the Hunter.
The Hubble image reveals a huge ultraviolet atmosphere with a mysterious hot spot on the stellar behemoth's surface. The enormous bright spot, which is many hundreds times the diameter of Sun, is at least 2, 000 Kelvin degrees hotter than the surface of the star.
About the Image
NASA press release
| Id: | opo9604b |
|---|---|
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 10 August 2020, 12:45 |
| Related releases: | heic2014 |
| Size: | 100 x 100 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Betelgeuse |
|---|---|
| Type: | Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Red Supergiant |
| Distance: | 650 light years |
| Constellation: | Orion |
| Category: | Stars |
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 5 55 10.42 |
|---|---|
| Position (Dec): | 7° 24' 23.73" |
| Field of view: | 0.01 x 0.01 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is -0.0° left of vertical |
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Colours & filters
| Band | Telescope |
|---|---|
| Optical |
Hubble Space Telescope
FOC |