Betelgeuse

Hubble Space Telescope image of Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse, or Betelgeux is a large red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. Its name means "the Warrior's Armpit". Betelgeuse is visible to the naked eye as a small, bright circle on winter nights in the northern hemisphere and in summer in the southern hemisphere. Because the of the Earth's orbit, the view of the constellations and the stars is varied. Betelgeuse lies around 640 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Orion.

Characteristics

Betelgeuse is a variable star. It loses and gains brightness over a certain period of time. This is because Betelgeuse sometimes grows bigger or smaller, causing a change in brightness.

Other pages

• Orion