betelgeuse - red supergiant star

Betelgeuse is a semiregular variable star located approximately 640 light-years from the Earth. It is Alpha Orionis (α Orionis / α Ori), but the second brightest star in the constellation Orion and the ninth brightest star in the night sky. Although Betelgeuse has the Bayer designation α, Rigel (Beta Orionis) is usually brighter (Betelgeuse is a variable star and is on occasion brighter than Rigel). The star is a vertex of the Winter Triangle and center of the Winter Hexagon.

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant, and one of the largest and most luminous stars known. For comparison, if the star were at the center of our solar system its surface might extend out to between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, wholly engulfing Mercury, Venus, the Earth and Mars. The angular diameter of Betelgeuse was first measured in 19201921 by Michelson and Pease using the 100 inch (2.5 m) John D. Hooker astronomical interferometer telescope atop Mount Wilson.

Astronomers believe Betelgeuse is only a few million years old, but has evolved rapidly because of its high mass. Some astronomers believe it may become a supernova within a timeframe where it could be observable by human civilization.

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