Betelgeuse is an M class red supergiant star located in the constellation Orion, approximately 498 light-years away from Earth. It is one of the largest and brightest stars known to astronomers.

Betelgeuse has a radius about 640 times larger than that of our Sun, which means that if it were placed at the center of the solar system, its surface would extend beyond the orbit of Mars. It is also about 14,000 times more luminous than the Sun, making it one of the brightest stars in the sky.

Its tremendous size means that fuel scooping can be active all the way out to the first planet, which is 2,451 ls from the star.

Betelgeuse is a variable star, which means that its brightness changes over time. It is known to vary between magnitudes 0.0 and 1.3, and its period of variability is around 420 days. Betelgeuse is also a source of intense stellar winds, and has a mass of around 10 to 20 times that of the Sun.

In the 21st century, Betelgeuse attracted a lot of attention from astronomers because it had been undergoing unusual dimming events, leading to speculation that it might be nearing the end of its life and could go supernova in the near future. However, more recent observations have shown that it has returned to its normal brightness, and it is not clear when it will go supernova.

Betelgeuse Status Monitoring

Betelgeuse is a very popular tourist destination due to its proximity to the bubble, and the system hosts two tourist beacons. One for the beautiful lava planet that is the closest to the star.

The other is orbiting the second body, which is landable and affords great views with the star looming over the surface.