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Betelgeuse (Pronounced "beetle juice"). It is the second brightest star in the
constellation Orion, and the ninth brightest star in the night sky.
Although it has the Bayer designation "alpha", it is not as bright as
Rigel (Beta Orionis). It is a vertex of the Winter Triangle asterism. It is a red supergiant star about 600 lightyears distant, is shown here
in this Hubble Space Telescope image which represents the first direct
picture of the surface of a star other than the Sun. While Betelgeuse
is cooler than the Sun, it is more massive and over 1000 times larger -
if placed at the center of our Solar System, it would extend past the
orbit of Jupiter. Like many star names, Betelgeuse is Arabic in origin.
It is derived from a phrase which refers to the hunter's shoulder or armpit,
the general area occupied by this star in drawings of the figure in the
constellation. As a massive red supergiant, it is nearing the end of
its life and will soon become a supernova.
Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse
Credit: A. Dupree (CfA),
R. Gilliland (STScI),
NASA
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant and relatively luminous and one of the largest stars known. For comparison, if the star were at the center of our solar system its surface might extend out to between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, wholly engulfing Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The angular diameter of Betelgeuse was first measured in 1920–1921 by Michelson and Pease using an astronomical interferometer on the Mount Wilson 100 inch telescope.
Etymology
The name is a corruption of the Arabic يد الجوزاء yad al-jawzÄ, hand of the central one. The Arabs had earlier called Gemini Jauza ("the central one") but later switched this name to Orion instead. European mistransliteration into Latin during the Middle Ages led to the first character y (ï»´, with two dots underneath) being misread as a b (ﺒ, with only one dot underneath). Thus throughout the Renaissance the star's name was written as Bait al-Jauza and thought to mean armpit of the central one in Arabic. This led to the modern rendering as Betelgeuseابط, transliterated as IbÅ£, hence in 1899 Richard Hinckley Allen mistakenly gave the origin as IbÅ£ al Jauzah). In German, the star's name was corrupted even further: it is called Beteigeuze, because the letter l in the romanised name was mistaken for the letter i. (although a true translation of "armpit" would be
Because of its rich reddish color the star has also been called "the martial one" and in astrology Betelgeuse portends military or civic honors. This bright star has had many other names:
- Al Dhira (the Arm)[9]
- Al Mankib (the Shoulder),[9]
- Al Yad al Yamma (the Right Hand),[9]
- Ardra (Hindi,[9] and name of Hindu Nakshatra),
- Bahu (Sanskrit),[9]
- Bašn (Persian) (the Arm),
- Gula (Euphratean),
- Ied Algeuze (Orion's Hand),[9]
- Klaria (Coptic) (an Armlet)[9]
- Yedelgeuse
In Chinese, Betelgeuse is known as å‚宿四 (ShÄ“nsùsì, the Fourth Star of the Constellation of Three Stars)
because the Constellation of Three Stars was at first a name for only
three stars in the girdle of the Orion. Four more stars were later
added to this constellation but the earlier name stuck.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse
In Japan Orion's Betelgeuse and Rigel have special significance in many prefectures of Japan. Rigel is
sometimes called Genji Boshi, and Betelgeuse is called Heike Boshi. These names
refer to a particularly significant period in Japanese history and are related to the apparent colors
of the two bright stars, white and red (though it may be argued that Rigel has a bit of a bluish
tinge). The beginning of the Heian era (794-1192) found Japan with a new capital in Kyoto and
continued exchange with China that had begun a few centuries before. However, in this
era, political problems in China led to less exchange, and Japan began to enter one of its first major
phases of isolation. While the emperor was the official ruler of Japan, then as so often in Japan's
history, actual power began to fall more and more into the hands of powerful families.
The legendary war that brought the somewhat artistic and gentle Heian era to a close took place
between the Taira (Heike) and Minamoto (Genji) families. The colors of Taira were red, and the
colors of the Minamoto family were white. Ultimately the Minamoto (Rigel) family won the war and
moved the capital to Kamakura, ushering in an era of Samurai warriors and leading to centuries of
little true peace. This war gave rise to many famous stories and legends that later became part of
Nou drama and Kabuki plays. These two bright stars of red and white still do battle with the
steepes of the belt holding them apart.
Due to the extraordinary bravery and loyalty exhibited by many members of both sides of this
conflict, the colors of red and white came to have special significance that is still seen in present
day Japan, most notable of course in the colors of the Japanese flag itself. Symbolizing duty,
sacrifice, and loyalty, Rigel and Betelgeuse still are seen as reminders of these basic Japanese
values. Thus, it may be quite appropriate that the bright stars of Betelgeuse and Rigel shine as
emblems for the heritage of Heike and Genji.
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In the Lakota starfield, Orion's Belt is the
spine of a bison. The Greek's Betelgeuse in that constellation is part
of the Lakota bison's rib structure. The six-star cluster Pleiades in
what the Greeks saw as the constellation Taurus, is the bison's head.
Those stars and others low on the winter sky also depict a racetrack
surrounding the Black Hills. On this course, all the birds and animals
raced four times around the Black Hills. The winner got to decide if
humans would remain on earth or would be swept away by the Thunder
Beings.
The race was won by a bird, the long-tailed, black-and-white magpie, a
creature viewed as only slightly better than a pest species by most
people today. It should be held in higher regard; the magpie decided
humans got to stay. Its great gift to mankind is memorialized in Lakota
astronomy.
https://www.aaanativearts.com/printout418.html
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The 2008 Orionid meteor shower put on a surprisingly
good show. Observers around the world counted 40+ meteors per hour, about twice the usual rate. The display included
a substantial number of fireballs and exploding meteors, like this
one over Sedona, Arizona, on Tuesday morning, Oct. 21st:
"The explosion left a bubble of glowing debris that expanded
for at least 15 minutes," says photographer Marsha Adams. She
took pictures at one minute intervals and assembled them to show
the
aftermath of the blast.
Orionid meteors are specks of debris from Halley's Comet. The extra
Orionids of 2008 probably came from a denser-than-usual filament
of comet dust crossing Earth's orbit. This is the third October
in a row this has happened, suggesting a trend. Maybe next year's
outburst won't be such a surprise!
https://www.spaceweather.com/
