Betelgeuse is Smaller and Closer to Earth than Previously Thought | Astronomy - Sci-News.com

Using new observational data from the space-based Solar Mass Ejection Imager and three different modeling techniques, astronomers have found that Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the constellation of Orion, has a radius of about 764 solar radii, a mass between 16.5 and 19 solar masses, and is 548 light-years away.

This image from ALMA shows the M2 spectral-type supergiant star Betelgeuse.

Joyce and colleagues were able to use hydrodynamic and seismic modeling to learn more about the physics driving the pulsations of Betelgeuse and get a clearer idea of what phase of its life this red supergiant is in.

“We also revealed how big Betelgeuse is, and its distance from Earth,” added Dr.

“The actual physical size of Betelgeuse has been a bit of a mystery — earlier studies suggested it could be bigger than the orbit of Jupiter.”.

“Once we had the physical size of the star, we were able to determine the distance from Earth,” he said.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: New Mass and Distance Estimates for Betelgeuse through Combined Evolutionary, Asteroseismic, and Hydrodynamic Simulations with MESA