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Betelgeuse has a hidden companion and Hubble just caught its wake

Astronomers have uncovered the long-hidden cause behind Betelgeuse’s strange behavior: a small companion star carving a visible wake through the giant’s vast atmosphere. Using nearly eight years of observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories, scientists detected swirling trails of dense gas created as the companion, called Siwarha, moves through Betelgeuse’s outer layers.

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