Inbox Astronomy: NASA Hubble Helps Detect 'Wake' of Betelgeuse=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=99s_?=Elusive Companion Star

INBOX ASTRONOMY

NASA Hubble Helps Detect 'Wake' of Betelgeuse’s Elusive Companion Star

Release date: Monday, January 5, 2026 4:15:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

After nearly a decade of tracking the giant star’s hidden companion, scientists have confirmed its existence and the influence it exerts.

Scientists have long puzzled over the mysterious red supergiant star Betelgeuse’s changes in brightness and surface features. The mystery intensified after the enormous star became unexpectedly faint in 2020. Now, using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes, astrophysicists have for the first time found firm evidence that a companion is disrupting the atmosphere of Betelgeuse. Like a boat moving through water, the companion star creates a ripple effect in Betelgeuse’s atmosphere. Astronomers now see direct signs of this wake, confirming that Betelgeuse really does have a hidden companion shaping its appearance and behavior.

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