Back in 2019, we learned about the giant star’s unfortunate situation. Its state was worrying due to its diminishing process. Now, Betelgeuse appears to be in good shape, dismissing some beliefs for turning into a supernova. Recent observations indicate how the famous star has stopped dimming.
“Based on these and additional observations, Betelgeuse has definitely stopped dimming and has started to slowly brighten. Thus this ‘fainting’ episode is over, but additional photometry is needed to define the brightening phase,” stated the researchers in the recent report.
While the latest information describes the cosmic feature is not going to explode too early, this still makes some question why it had begun diminishing in the first place.
Betelgeuse’s Reckless State
Previous reports indicated that the giant star began acting weird, suddenly diminishing to its lowest point due to some unknown reasons to scientists. The latest dimming, for example, was so significant that it displayed a 25 % rate between September 2019 and January 2020. It produced, too, much fuss over hopes that it might be advancing to its last phase.
Betelgeuse is placed in the Orion constellation approximately 700 light-years away. It succeeded to amaze scientists with its survival, as warm, blue-white stars of this category, with a volume of almost 10 to 25 times that of our host star, usually have short lifespans. The giant star is now 8 to 8.5 million-years-old.
Its first course days were completed approximately 1 million years ago, with the sphere cooling and converting into a massive red star, almost 40,000 years ago. By now, state researchers, Betelgeuse has consumed its deposit of hydrogen in its nucleus and is blending helium into carbon and oxygen.
What Are The Factors That Made Betelgeuse To Stop Dimming?
One of the factors is cooling on the stellar ground for some unidentified to science reason. Another, on the other hand, suggests that a massive dust cloud being dismissed from the giant star towards our planet.
Such stars, red giants, produce and discharge enormous quantities of fragments before they become a supernova. Infrared images have displayed Betelgeuse to be overwhelmed by dust and plumes. Both of these factors would be compatible with the asymmetry of the dimming, observed in images shot back in December 2019.
