Betelgeuse’s Atmospheric Disturbance Points to a Hidden Companion, Not a Stellar Collapse
New radio observations suggest that Betelgeuse’s dramatic 2019–2020 “Great Dimming” was likely driven by a companion star stirring the red supergiant’s outer atmosphere, rather than an imminent explosion. The finding sharpens astronomers’ understanding of one of the sky’s most closely watched stars and underscores how complex mass loss in dying stars can be.
