Betelgeuse
Red supergiant · Alpha Orionis
Nearby red supergiant nearing supernova
A colossal red supergiant in Orion's shoulder, Betelgeuse is so large it would engulf the inner planets if placed at the Sun, and its dramatic 2019-2020 dimming drew global attention to a star expected to explode as a supernova in astronomically near time.
Illustration generated from temperature, not a photograph
18.0 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
60 thousand ×
as bright as the Sun
3,654 K
surface · red
640 R☉
radius (the Sun = 1)
548 ly
from Earth
0.4
apparent magnitude
It pours out about 60 thousand times the Sun’s light. Its light has been travelling 548 years to reach us, so you see Betelgeuse as it was 548 years ago.
Source · View on Wikidata
It lives in
Milky Way
Barred spiral galaxy.
Other notable stars in Milky Way
Eta CarinaeLuminous blue variableAlnilamBlue supergiantVY Canis MajorisRed hypergiantAlnitakHot blue supergiantDenebBlue-white supergiantMintakaHot blue giant multiple star
Stars of similar brightness
SaiphBlue supergiant60 thousand ×HV 2112Red supergiant (Thorne-Zytkow candidate)63 thousand ×AntaresRed supergiant76 thousand ×Sanduleak -69° 202Blue supergiant (B3 Ia)100 thousand ×HadarBlue giant32 thousand ×AcruxBlue subgiant (multiple system)31 thousand ×
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→