Betelgeuse
Red supergiant · Alpha Orionis
Nearby red supergiant nearing supernova
A colossal red supergiant in Orion's shoulder, Betelgeuse is so large it would engulf the inner planets if placed at the Sun, and its dramatic 2019-2020 dimming drew global attention to a star expected to explode as a supernova in astronomically near time.
Also on: The brightest stars in the night sky · Named stars, A to Z · The largest stars · The most luminous stars · Stars in Orion
Illustration generated from temperature, not a photograph
18.0 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
59,979 ×
as bright as the Sun
3,654 K
surface · red
640 R☉
radius (the Sun = 1)
548 ly
from Earth
0.4
apparent magnitude
Visible to the naked eyeno equipment needed · apparent magnitude 0.4
It pours out about 59,979 times the Sun’s light. Its light has been travelling 548 years to reach us, so you see Betelgeuse as it was 548 years ago.
It lives in
Milky Way
Barred spiral galaxy.
Other notable stars in the Milky Way
Eta CarinaeLuminous blue variableAlnilamBlue supergiantVY Canis MajorisRed hypergiantAlnitakHot blue supergiantDenebBlue-white supergiantMintakaHot blue giant multiple star
Stars of similar brightness
SaiphBlue supergiant60,256 ×HV 2112Red supergiant (Thorne-Zytkow candidate)63,096 ×AntaresRed supergiant75,858 ×Sanduleak -69° 202Blue supergiant (B3 Ia)100,000 ×HadarBlue giant31,623 ×AcruxBlue subgiant (multiple system)31,117 ×
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→