images

Star Betelgeuse in Orion

by

Nasa/ESA/STSCI/Novapix

Reference

a-eto01-00050

Date

2006-09-02

Called Alpha Orionis, or Betelgeuse, the star is a red super giant, a Sun-like star nearing the end of its life. The Hubble picture reveals a huge ultraviolet atmosphere with a mysterious hot spot on the stellar behemoth's surface. The enormous bright spot, more than 10 times the diameter of Earth, is at least 2,000 degrees Kelvin hotter than the star's surface.