The supergiant star Betelgeuse may have a companion star that pushes light-blocking dust out of the way, causing the irregular changes observed in the star's brightness.

A new study suggests a stellar companion orbits the supergiant star Betelgeuse and moves light-blocking dust in its path, which could explain the star's irregular changes in brightness.

Betelgeuse is a 10-million-year-old star (a far cry from our Sun’s 5-billion-odd years) located some 642 light-years from Earth that’s especially bright in the night sky.

Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars in the sky, may have a secret sunlike companion that drives the star’s mysterious six-year-long "heartbeat," new research suggests.

One thing's for sure: If Betelgeuse does blow, it will be the brightest supernova ever witnessed by humans. Just how bright are we talking? Could you see it during the day?

Behold, the Mind-Blowing Bubbles of Betelgeuse. ... astronomers will need to revisit a leading theory that posits Betelgeuse spun up after it cannibalized an ill-fated sunlike star not so long ago.

Although some hype up Betelgeuse's looming doom, its coming explosion, called a supernova, might not happen for at least tens of thousands of years, if not more like some 100,000.

"If, for example, Betelgeuse blew up in 1600 AD, we won’t know about it until the year 2100. But if it blew up on August 1, 1523, then on August 1, 2023 it will become about as bright as the ...

The bright red star Betelgeuse, called ‘Thiruvathirai’ or ‘Ardra’ in Indian astronomy, is easily spotted in the constellation Orion. By examining its pulsation – the periodic contraction ...

Still, while Ziljstra concludes that "Betelgeuse may still be around for some time," that hasn't stopped fellow astrophysicists from expressing their desperate wishes to see it blow up.