Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Betelgeuse |
BetelgeuseNoun1. The second brightest star in Orion. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Synonym: BetelgeuseSynonym: Alpha Orionis (n). (additional references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The name is a contraction of the Arabic Yad al-Jauza`, translated as the "armpit of the central one," indicating its position in the constellation of Orion. Because of its rich reddish color the star has frequently been referred to as the "martial one," and in Astrology portends military or civic honors. Because it is the first star of Orion to rise, the title of "roarer" or "announcer" has been assigned to it by ancient writers. Other names are:
| Observation data | |
| Semiregular Variable, type SR c | |
| Right ascension (RA, α) (J2000,00) | 05 h 55 m 10.29 s |
| Declination (Dec, δ) (J2000,00) | +07° 24' 25.3" |
| Distance from Earth | 427 ± 92 LY (131 pc) |
| Visual brightness (V) | +0.45m (+0.3m to +0.6m (+1.3m)) |
| Absolute magnitude | -5.3m to -5.0m |
| Physical characteristics | Mean Diameter (dS = 1,392,000 km) | 385,000,000 km | ~ 276.6 dS 2.57 AU | (452 s.u.) |
| Surface area | |
| Volume | |
| Mass | ~ 40 × 1030 kg |
| Relative mass to the Sun (mS = 1.9891 × 1030 kg) | ~ 20 mS |
| Density | |
| Surface gravity | |
| Spectral type | M1-2 Ia-Iab (Red Super Giant) |
| Surface temperature | 3600 K |
| Age | |
| Color (B-V) | +1.850 (Orange-red) | (1.500) |
| V-I | 2.32 |
| Luminosity (LS = 3.827 × 1026 J s-1) | ~ 10,000 LS |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Period of rotation | |
| Period | ~ 2070 d to 2355 d |
Betelgeuse is of great interest astronomically. It is also one of the first stars to have its diameter measured with a stellar interferometer. The diameter was found to be variable, ranging from 290,000,000 km to 480,000,000 km. At maximum diameter, the star would extend out beyond the orbit of Mars if put in the Sun's place.
Astronomers confidently predict that Belegeuse will ultimately undergo a type II supernova explosion. Opinions are divided as to the likely timescale for this event. Some regard the star's current variability as suggesting that it is already in the carbon burning phase of its life cycle, and will therefore go supernova at some time in the next thousand years or so. Skeptics dispute this contention and regard the star as being likely to survive much longer. There is consensus that such a supernova would be a spectacular astronomical event, but would not represent any significant threat to life on Earth given the star's current distance.
In science fiction, Ford Prefect, a character in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, hails from a world "in the vicinity of Betelgeuse."
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Betelgeuse."
Crosswords: Betelgeuse |
| English words defined with "Betelgeuse": Orion ♦ The Hunter. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | You know, it's at times like this, when I'm stuck in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, about to die of asphyxiation in deep space, that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young. (The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy; writing credit: Douglas Adams; John Lloyd) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Betelgeuse, the brightest star in the constellation Orion. (Produced with ESA's Faint Object Camera (FOC), Hubble Space Telescope.).Credit: NASA. |  | Ships of the invasion force steaming out of the Guadalcanal-Tulagi area during the afternoon of 9 August 1942. Photographed from USS Chicago (CA-29), the view looks eastward, with USS Betelgeuse (AK-28) at right and Guadalcanal island in the distance.Credit: NAVY. |
 | Ships of the invasion force steaming out of the Guadalcanal-Tulagi area during the afternoon of 9 August 1942. Photographed from USS Chicago (CA-29), the view looks eastward, with USS Betelgeuse (AK-28) in the center and Guadalcanal island in the right distance.Credit: NAVY. |  | Smoke rises from two enemy planes shot down during a Japanese air attack on U.S. ships off Guadalcanal, 12 November 1942. Photographed from USS President Adams (AP-38). Ship at right is USS Betelgeuse (AK-28). That at left, barely visible beyond President Adams' structure, is USS Libra (AK-53). Smoke in the center distance appears to be a smoke screen.Credit: NAVY. |
| Smoke rises from two enemy planes shot down during a Japanese air attack on U.S. ships off Guadalcanal, 12 November 1942. Photographed from USS President Adams (AP-38). Ship at right is USS Betelgeuse (AK-28). That at left, barely visible beyond President Adams' structure, is USS Libra (AK-53). Smoke in the center distance appears to be a smoke screen.Credit: NAVY. | | Smoke rises from two enemy planes shot down during a Japanese air attack on U.S. ships off Guadalcanal, 12 November 1942. Photographed from USS President Adams (AP-38). Ship at right is USS Betelgeuse (AK-28). That at left, barely visible beyond President Adams' structure, is USS Libra (AK-53). Smoke in the center distance appears to be a smoke screen.Credit: NAVY. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Arabic | 500-Modern | Ibt al Jauzah. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-e-e-e-e-g-l-s-t-u" | |
-3 letters: beetles, eustele. | |
-4 letters: beetle, begets, betels, bluest, bluets, bugles, bulges, bustle, butles, elutes, gelees, glebes, gleets, sublet, subtle. | |
-5 letters: beets, beget, belts, beset, betel, blest, blets, blues, bluet, bugle, bulge, butes, butle, egest, elute, geese, geest, gelee, gelts, geste, glebe, glees, gleet, glues, gluts, guest, gules, leets, leges, lubes, luges, lutes, segue, sleet. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-e-e-e-e-g-l-s-t-u" | |
+4 letters: beleaguerments. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)42 65 74 65 6C 67 65 75 73 65 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-... . - . .-.. --. . ..- ... . |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000010 01100101 01110100 01100101 01101100 01100111 01100101 01110101 01110011 01100101 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)B e t e l g e u s e |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0042 0065 0074 0065 006C 0067 0065 0075 0073 0065 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)36718671787371878571 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Translations: Ancient 8. Anagrams | 9. Orthography 10. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
