Betelgeuse<\/a> is complicated.<\/p>\nThe primary star is fundamentally a very odd object. It is so large that, were it at the centre of our Solar System, it would engulf all the planets out as far as Jupiter.<\/p>\n
Yet, in the star\u2019s outer layers, the density is low enough that it would pass for a good laboratory vacuum.<\/p>\n
Even so, dust can be formed there \u2013 as it was during the great dimming \u2013 and ejected from the star.<\/p>\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/betelgeuse-b-insta-02.jpg\")
Image captured with the Very Large Telescope showing what’s strongly predicted to be Betelgeuse B, the companion star to the red supergiant Betelgeuse. The size of Betelgeuse is circled (with the star removed from the image). The cross pinpoints the suspected Betelgeuse B. Credit: ESO\/M. Montarg\u00e8s et al.<\/p>\n
Any companion thus travels not through empty space, but through the dusty material surrounding Betelgeuse.<\/p>\n
Indeed, previous observations with the VLT and Hubble gave hints that there was a dusty wake dragged behind the orbiting companion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How does the presence of dust help? We translate observations to mass by matching the observed colour and brightness with known stars.<\/p>\n
So if the dust means we don\u2019t see the companion clearly, there will be an error in our calculations.<\/p>\n
![\"Betelgeuse](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/betelgeuse-companion-social.jpg\")
Betelgeuse and its companion star, the companion discovered using \u2018Alopeke instrument on the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory. Credit: International Gemini Observatory\/NOIRLab\/NSF\/AURA. Image Processing: M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)
\nA solution?<\/p>\n
The new research points out that we may not be observing the companion directly.<\/p>\n
Instead, as it moves through its surroundings, what we see is the reflection of Betelgeuse\u2019s light off the dense clumps of dust it stirs up.<\/p>\n
If that\u2019s right, then a companion of relatively modest mass \u2013 certainly less than the 2\u20133 solar masses originally assumed \u2013 could appear bright enough to be detected via its influence on the dust.<\/p>\n
With a smaller, cooler star, there\u2019s no problem with its apparent invisibility in the UV.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a neat solution and it passes the researchers\u2019 back-of-the-envelope tests.<\/p>\n
To find out more, we may just have to be a little patient, waiting as the companion\u2019s orbit carries it away from its present position behind the disc of material that surrounds Betelgeuse, making it observable once again.<\/p>\n
One particular test that seems worth doing as soon as it appears is to look for heavily polarised light.<\/p>\n
Just as polarised sunglasses cut out glare from light scattered off the surface of a road, astronomers use polarisation as a diagnostic property for light which has been scattered from dust.<\/p>\n
An absence of polarisation would be hard to reconcile with this new, dusty idea \u2013 so we may be able to put it to the test sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n
Chris Lintott was reading Disco in the Dust: Reflected Light at the Bow Shock around Betelgeuse\u2019s Companion Explains its Observed Luminosity by Jared A Goldberg et al. Read it online at: arxiv.org\/abs\/2608.11672<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since the \u2018great dimming\u2019 that took place in 2019, Betelgeuse \u2013 Orion\u2019s \u2018shoulder\u2019 and one of the best-known…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":798752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[59,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-798751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-gb","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/798752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/betelgeuse-alma-2023.jpg\")
An image of Betelgeuse captured by the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array in 2023 shows the star’s bumpy atmosphere. Credit: ALMA(ESO\/NAOJ\/NRAO)\/W. Dent et al.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Betelgeuse-dimming-575ee92.png\")
Two images of Betelgeuse captured by the Very Large Telescope. Left shows the view in January 2019 and right shows the view in December 2019, revealing the star\u2019s change in brightness over time. Credit: Credit: ESO\/M. Montarg\u00e8s et al.