A closer look at “Betelgeuse’s Companion Star Siwarha Causes Atmospheric Disturbances, New Radio Images Reve”, exactly as the source publishes it. New radio observations of the red supergiant Betelgeuse have revealed subtle atmospheric disturbances caused by its recently discovered companion star, Siwarha. The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, provide the first direct evidence of the companion’s gravitational influence The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, provide the first direct evidence of the companion’s gravitational influence on Betelgeuse’s extended atmosphere.
Siwarha, a small star estimated to be about 1.2 times the mass of the Sun, orbits Betelgeuse at a distance roughly equivalent to the orbit of Jupiter, periodically stirring up the outer layers of the supergiant. This interaction may help explain the star’s unusual dimming events and complex pulsation patterns observed in recent years. Andrea Dupree of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to map the star’s radio emissions with unprecedented detail. The full version stays on the original page, which this listing opens directly.