Release Date

August 11, 2022 10:00AM (EDT)

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2022-037

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Caption

This illustration plots changes in the brightness of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, following the titanic mass ejection of a large piece of its visible surface. The escaping material cooled to form a cloud of dust that temporarily made the star look dimmer, as seen from Earth. This unprecedented stellar convulsion disrupted the monster star’s 400-day-long oscillation period that astronomers had measured for more than 200 years. The interior may now be jiggling like a plate of gelatin dessert.

Credits

ILLUSTRATION: NASA, ESA, Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI)

Keywords

• Stars