The flames of Betelgeuse

Eso_eso1121a_1024

eso_eso1121a June 23rd, 2011

Credit: ESO/P. Kervella

This picture of the dramatic nebula around the bright red supergiant star Betelgeuse was created from images taken with the VISIR infrared camera on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). This structure, resembling flames emanating from the star, forms because the behemoth is shedding its material into space. The earlier NACO observations of the plumes are reproduced in the central disc. The small red circle in the middle has a diameter about four and half times that of the Earth’s orbit and represents the location of Betelgeuse’s visible surface. The black disc corresponds to a very bright part of the image that was masked to allow the fainter nebula to be seen.

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1121a/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

View Options

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Betelgeuse
Subject - Solar System
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Red Supergiant

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue VLT (NACO) Infrared (J) -
Blue VLT (VISIR) Infrared (Mid-IR) -
Blue VLT (VISIR) Infrared (PAH) -
Cyan VLT (VISIR) Infrared (SIV) -
Green VLT (NACO) Infrared (H) -
Green VLT (VISIR) Infrared (SIC) -
Yellow VLT (VISIR) Infrared (NeII) -
Orange VLT (VISIR) Infrared (Q1) -
Red VLT (VISIR) Infrared (Q3) -
Red VLT (NACO) Infrared (K) -
Red None (None) Infrared -
Eso_eso1121a_1280
×
ID
eso1121a
Subject Category
A.3.1.5  
Subject Name
Betelgeuse
Credits
ESO/P. Kervella
Release Date
2011-06-23T12:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1121a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, None
Instrument
NACO, VISIR, VISIR, VISIR, NACO, VISIR, VISIR, VISIR, VISIR, NACO, None
Color Assignment
Blue, Blue, Blue, Cyan, Green, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Red, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
J, Mid-IR, PAH, SIV, H, SIC, NeII, Q1, Q3, K, -
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
1352.0, 1352.0
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
http://www.eso.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
eso1121a
Metadata Date
2011-06-20T14:13:51+02:00
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×

There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

Providers | Sign In