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Could this explain why Betelgeuse's brightness seems to vary so much? edit: apparently, yep, that's why.

• arnavpraneet 1y ago
  Could you provide any links as to this? Was not able to find anything
  • layer8 1y ago
    See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse#Variability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse#Variability And from the original NOIRLab link: “This discovery answers the longstanding mystery of the star’s varying brightness”.
  • jimmytucson 1y ago
    The system’s brightness decreases when the companion star swings around behind Betelgeuse. It also dips when Betelgeuse goes behind the companion star but much less so because Betelgeuse is so much larger.