What is Betelgeuse?

Answer 1

The star Betelgeuse (or "Beetlejuice") is a Type M red supergiant in the constellation Orion. It is pronounced "bet- L (like the letter L) -geese," meaning armpit of the giant.

It is very luminous, and one of the largest stars known [See Link]. For comparison, if the star was at the centre of our solar system its surface would extend out between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, engulfing Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

It has a mass 20 times that of our Sun (Sun = 1.9891 × 1030kg = 333,000 times that of Earth)

It's approximately 600 light years from us.

The name is a corruption of an Arabic word meaning "hand of the central one".

It is likely that Betelgeuse will become a supernova. Because of its size and age of 8.5 million years it may explode within the next thousand years. (However, due to its distance from us, it may have already happened!!!)

[It's also a name of a film]

Answer 2

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star located in the Orion constellation. It is currently thought to be 640 light years from Earth, but it is still unsure. Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars known being as large as 1.6 billion suns! If Betelgeuse were at the center of our solar system, it would extend out as far as Jupiter's orbit.