betelgeuse-betelgeux-alpha-orionis-9 | space-encyclopedia

Space Travel

19, May, 2012

Space exploration began with the launch of Sputnik and Astrophysics was born as the application of physics to the phenomena observed by Astronomy, which etymologically means laws of the stars.

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Term	Definition
Betelgeuse Betelgeux; Alpha Orionis;	A red supergiant M star, one of the largest known. By means of speckle interferometry and other interference techniques, the star’s diameter has been measured directly and found to be about 1,000 times that of the Sun . The presence of large bright star-spots has also been revealed. Ultraviolet observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope showed Betelgeuse to be surrounded by an extended chromosphere. Its mass is about twenty times the Sun’s. The brightness varies irregularly between magnitudes 0.4 and 0.9 with a rough period of around five years.

Term

Definition

Betelgeuse Betelgeux; Alpha Orionis;

A red supergiant M star, one of the largest known. By means of speckle interferometry and other interference techniques, the star’s diameter has been measured directly and found to be about 1,000 times that of the Sun . The presence of large bright star-spots has also been revealed. Ultraviolet observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope showed Betelgeuse to be surrounded by an extended chromosphere. Its mass is about twenty times the Sun’s. The brightness varies irregularly between magnitudes 0.4 and 0.9 with a rough period of around five years.