Zooming in on Betelgeuse - European Southern Observatory - astrophysics

The video takes the viewer from the constellation of Orion to the surface of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse,which underwent an unprecedented dimming in 2019 and 2020.This was observed by this blog.As we zoom closer to the star,we see the star's "flames",clouds of dust in a dramatic image taken with the VISIR instrument on the Very Large Telescope.The dot appearing at the end of the zoom is a March 2020 image taken with the SPHERE instrument of the Very Large Telescope.It shows Betelgeuse's visible surface,which has a sixe close to that of the orbit of Jupiter.*Text by ESO and edited by Andrew Taylor*Red supergiants progress to a supernova explosion,so Betelgeuse is closely monitored by scientests.

Close Up Images Show Something Weird is Happening on Betelgeuse - YouTube - The Secrets of the Universe - astrophysics

Betelgeuse is only 550 light years from Earth.When it goes supernova,we will be able to see it in the daytime for a few months.It isn't close enough,though,to pose any danger to Earth.It's been ascertained that the rapid rotation of the star is an optical illusion caused by the star's boiling surface.