'Great Dimming' of Betelgeuse Star is Solved
Eratosthenes writes:
'Great Dimming' of Betelgeuse star is solved
[...] Two ideas were dominant. Perhaps there was a large cool spot on the surface of the star, because red supergiants like Betelgeuse are known to have very large convective cells that can cause hot spots and cold spots. Or maybe there was a cloud of dust forming right in front of the star as viewed from Earth.
The explanation turns out to be "a bit of both", says colleague Emily Cannon from KU (Katholieke Universiteit) Leuven in Belgium.
"Our overall idea is that there was a cool spot on the star which, because of the local drop in temperature, then caused gas ejected previously to condense into dust," she told BBC News.
Also at Ars Technica, c|net, and CNN.
Journal Reference:
M. Montarges, E. Cannon, E. Lagadec, et al. A dusty veil shading Betelgeuse during its Great Dimming. Nature, 2021; 594 (7863): 365 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03546-8
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