Orionis - Alpha

Distinctive orange-red hue, visible even without equipment. Variability and Observation

In late 2019 and early 2020, it experienced a historic drop in brightness, eventually attributed to a massive surface mass ejection that cooled into an obscuring dust cloud. alpha orionis

(α Orionis), famously known as Betelgeuse , is a massive red supergiant marking the western shoulder of the constellation Orion . It is one of the largest and most luminous stars visible to the naked eye. Physical Characteristics Distinctive orange-red hue, visible even without equipment

If placed at the center of our solar system, it would engulf the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, likely extending past Jupiter's orbit . It is one of the largest and most

A red supergiant nearing the end of its life cycle.

Despite being only about 8 to 10 million years old —much younger than our 4.6-billion-year-old Sun—its massive size caused it to evolve rapidly.

It is roughly 100,000 times brighter than the Sun but significantly cooler, with a surface temperature of approximately 3,600 Kelvin (6,020°F).