Betelgeuse Might Be Hiding Something Huge, Astronomers Say

Betelgeuse, the fiery red supergiant that once dimmed mysteriously in the night sky, is back in the headlines. Astronomers now think the star might be hiding something massive—clues about its inner structure, strange dust clouds, or even signs of what could happen before it finally goes supernova. The star is so big that if it sat where our Sun is, it would swallow Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. But its strange behavior has scientists wondering: is Betelgeuse preparing for the biggest explosion our galaxy has seen in centuries, or is there something else we don’t yet understand?