An international team of astronomers led by experts from the Max Planck Institute in Germany has found an explanation for the incredible rotation speed of the giant star Betelgeuse, located 650 light-years from Earth in the constellation Orion. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Astrophysical Journal Letters (TAJL).
Betelgeuse is one of the largest known stars. Its diameter is more than 1 billion kilometers, which is almost 1000 times that of the Sun, and the mass of Betelgeuse is 10-20 times greater than the mass of our star. If the Sun and Betelgeuse were to switch places, Betelgeuse would swallow Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and its atmosphere would extend as far as Jupiter.
Stars expand and slow down as they develop, but recent observations have shown that Betelgeuse rotates at 5 km/s; This is 20 times faster than an object with these characteristics should be.
Astronomers used the ALMA radio observatory in Chile to better study the massive star. As observations show, the surface of the red supergiant is turbulent and covered with boiling bubbles. The size of some of these bubbles is equal to the diameter of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, which is 300 million kilometers.
Scientists analyzed the dynamics of the appearance and disappearance of boiling clusters in Betelgeuse and concluded that the star’s abnormal rotation rate is an illusion caused by large-scale turbulent disturbances in its crust. This hypothesis was confirmed in 90% of the simulations.
Astronomers added that there may be other explanations for the supergiant’s unusual behavior. For example, Betelgeuse is actually capable of reaching its observed speed by consuming a small companion star.
Previous space explorers perceived A change in Betelgeuse’s brightness caused by a possible merger with a smaller star.