VLT image of Betelgeuse’s companion

Eso_eso2611b_1024

eso_eso2611b July 28th, 2026

Credit: ESO/M. Montargès et al.

This image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), shows the clearest image ever of what likely is Betelgeuse B, a star orbiting Betelgeuse. The image was taken with the SPHERE instrument in December 2024, when the companion was predicted to be furthest apart from Betelgeuse as seen from Earth. The circle indicates the size of Betelgeuse, which has been removed. The bright source to the left, marked with a crosshair, is consistent with being Betelgeuse B.

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2611b/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, None, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Betelgeuse B
Subject - Milky Way
Star > Grouping > Binary
Eso_eso2611b_1280
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ID
eso2611b
Subject Category
B.3.6.1  
Subject Name
Betelgeuse B
Credits
ESO/M. Montargès et al.
Release Date
2026-07-28T14:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2611b/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Instrument
Color Assignment
Band
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
1009.0, 1006.0
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
https://www.eso.org
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
None
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
eso2611b
Resource URL
https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/original/eso2611b.tif
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2026-07-26T15:40:26.696606
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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