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Mystery Solved: Dust Cloud Led to Betelgeuse's 'Great Dimming'

  • These images show the surface of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse during its unprecedented dimming, which happened in late 2019 and early 2020. The image on the far left, taken in January 2019, shows the star at its normal brightness, while the remaining images, from December 2019, January 2020, and March 2020, were all taken when the stars brightness had noticeably dropped, especially in its southern region.

    These images show the surface of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse during its unprecedented dimming, which happened in late 2019 and early 2020. The image on the far left, taken in January 2019, shows the star at its normal brightness, while the remaining images, from December 2019, January 2020, and March 2020, were all taken when the stars brightness had noticeably dropped, especially in its southern region.

    ESO/M. Montargès et al.

    Low Resolution Image

  • These images show the surface of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse during its unprecedented dimming, which happened in late 2019 and early 2020. The image on the far left, taken in January 2019, shows the star at its normal brightness, while the remaining images, from December 2019, January 2020, and March 2020, were all taken when the star's brightness had noticeably dropped, especially in its southern region.

    These images show the surface of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse during its unprecedented dimming, which happened in late 2019 and early 2020. The image on the far left, taken in January 2019, shows the star at its normal brightness, while the remaining images, from December 2019, January 2020, and March 2020, were all taken when the star's brightness had noticeably dropped, especially in its southern region.

    ESO/M. Montargès et al.

    Low Resolution Image