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Betelgeuse Constellation Orion

Betelgeuse (α Ori), the second-brightest in the constellation Orion is a distinctly reddish semiregular variable star. Betelgeuse is often mistranslated as "armpit of the central one." Most likely, the name derives from the Arabic Bait al-Jauzā ( بيت الجوزاء ), meaning House of Orion. See Wikipedia for an extensive etymology. In Mythology, Betelgeuse, like other reddish stars is often associated with blood and death. Other myth result from the star's periodic change in magnitude.

Source: AstroBob

Variations in Magnitude In 2017, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in northern Chile took a picture of Betelgeuse. It was the first image of the surface of a star's other than the sun. Another image, taken by ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in 2019 shows the dramatic dimming of Betelgeuse in recent years.

Image taken by ESO's ALMA, June 2017 Source: eso.org

Image taken by ESO's VLT, December 2019 Source: spacedaily.com

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