Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse

Explanation : Betelgeuse (sounds a lot like “beetle juice”), a red supergiant star about 600 light years distant, is seen in this Hubble Space Telescope image -- the first direct picture of the surface of a star other than the Sun . A bright, as yet unexplained hotspot is revealed on its surface! 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 . Betelgeuse is also known as Alpha Orionis, one of the brightest stars in the familar constellation of Orion, the Hunter . 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 .