Supergiant Betelgeuse was recently discovered to have a companion star - it’s bright blue, not yet fusing hydrogen, and actually orbiting so close that it’s inside Betelgeuse’s outer atmosphere! I wonder what it’ll be named.
Supergiant Betelgeuse was recently discovered to have a companion star - it’s bright blue, not yet fusing hydrogen, and actually orbiting so close that it’s inside Betelgeuse’s outer atmosphere! I wonder what it’ll be named.
Then what is it fusing? I didn’t think there was a pre-fusion state for a star by definition.
It would be a protostar, I believe. As the gas required for the star collapses in to itself from gravity, it will get still get super hot as density increases. It still takes a bit for the heat and pressure to reach a point to start fusion.
Edit: Conflicting report that it may have started fusing hydrogen: https://www.iflscience.com/it-looks-like-weve-found-betel-buddy-betelgeuses-suspected-companion-star-80082