\n<\/p>\n
January 6, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Astronomers May Have Unlocked the Reason for Betelgeuse\u2019s Bizarre Dimming<\/p>\n Researchers found evidence that a companion star may be influencing Betelgeuse, explaining why the latter star\u2019s brightness changes over time<\/p>\n By Claire Cameron edited by Clara Moskowitz<\/span><\/p>\n NASA\/ESA\/Elizabeth Wheatley\/STScI (artwork); Andrea Dupree\/CfA (science)<\/p>\n Astronomers may have finally solved one of the weirdest mysteries of our night sky: why Betelgeuse, a massive star in the constellation Orion, seems to fade and brighten as if it were operated by a heavenly dimmer switch.<\/p>\n Using the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories, scientists observed Betelgeuse for almost eight years and found patterns in the star\u2019s light and atmosphere that suggested it was passing through the wake of another, unseen star.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit like a boat moving through water. The companion star creates a ripple effect in Betelgeuse\u2019s atmosphere that we can actually see in the data,\u201d said Andrea Dupree, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, in a statement.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n The other star appears to pass in front of Betelgeuse every six years or so. If the findings are confirmed by follow-up observations, they will help explain why Betelgeuse, a bright, nearby star that is more massive than 400 million suns, periodically seems to be on the point of vanishing before our eyes. That\u2019s what happened in 2020: at that time, Betelgeuse appeared so faint that it fed rumors that it was possibly about to explode into a supernova. (Astronomers, in general, did not think that such a cataclysm was imminent. But they were mightily confused.)<\/p>\n Scientists had predicted the existence of a companion star, dubbed Siwarha, before. But the evidence was lacking, Dupree said in the recent statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this new direct evidence, Betelgeuse gives us a front-row seat to watch how a giant star changes over time,\u201d she said. \u201cFinding the wake from its companion means we can now understand how stars like this evolve, shed material, and eventually explode as supernovae.\u201d<\/p>\n The research was presented on Monday at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society and will be published in the Astrophysical Journal.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" January 6, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Astronomers May Have Unlocked the Reason for Betelgeuse\u2019s Bizarre Dimming Researchers found evidence that a companion star may be influencing Betelgeuse, explaining why the latter star\u2019s brightness changes over time By Claire Cameron edited by Clara Moskowitz NASA\/ESA\/Elizabeth Wheatley\/STScI (artwork); Andrea Dupree\/CfA (science) Astronomers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[4341,21784,7167,21785,10646,9790],"class_list":{"0":"post-40545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-astronomers","9":"tag-betelgeuses","10":"tag-bizarre","11":"tag-dimming","12":"tag-reason","13":"tag-unlocked"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n