Space
Betelgeuse may not be alone
Astronomers have the clearest image yet of a faint star that probably orbits the famous red supergiant in Orion.
Betelgeuse, a famous reddish star in the constellation of Orion, may not be alone. On July 28, 2026, the European Southern Observatory, or ESO, announced that astronomers had captured the clearest image yet of what is probably a faint companion star orbiting it. ESO described the result as the strongest evidence so far that this companion, known as Betelgeuse B, really exists.
Betelgeuse is easy to see without a telescope, and its brightness is known to change over time. A partner star was first proposed to explain some of these changes, and astronomers have been searching for it for about a century. The search has been difficult because the companion is faint and lies very close to a much brighter star.
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ESO described the result as the strongest evidence so far that this companion, known as Betelgeuse B, really exists.