Spectroscopic evidence for a large spot on the dimming Betelgeuse

Affiliations

Sofya Alexeeva: CAS Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Gang Zhao: CAS Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Dong-Yang Gao: Shandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Sciences, Shandong University
Junju Du: Shandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Sciences, Shandong University
Aigen Li: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri
Kai Li: Shandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Sciences, Shandong University
Shaoming Hu: Shandong Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, School of Space Sciences, Shandong University

Abstract

The reason of the dimming of Betelgeuse is debated. Here, the authors show effective temperature decrease that can be explained by a large spot.