Starship Asterisk*

Pixelation would be relatively easy to fix. Yes, if we were talking about a single picture, then astronomers would be limited to just the explicit pixels available in that picture with no ability to enhance it. However, if you record such a pixelated image over time, moving the pixel grid (ie, movin...

What holds Betelgeuse's thin outer layers "in orbit" is the same as how Earth's thin outer atmosphere stays in place despite solar wind - gravity. Yes, Betelgeuse is a star with a solar wind that is pushing against the outer layers - but that's why Betelgeuse is so large in diameter. Assum...

Did some calculations - the average density of the Sun is about 1400 kg/m^3, or about 1.4 grams per cubic centimeter - 50% more dense than water, but less than a fifth as dense as iron (of course, the core being much more dense than the outer layers). But the average density of Betelgeuse is only ab...

This might be a cylinder - and perhaps this gives us some insight into why end-of-life stars expel their shells in cylinders, rather than spheres - most vividly seen in Eta Carinae, I think... In this particular picture, it seems that the white spots could be the top and bottom of a cylinder (with r...