Betelgeuse: a Nearby Giant

Betelgeuse, the bright red star in Orion's shoulder, is one of the closest red supergiants to Earth, about 700 light-years away. It is far more massive than the Sun and has swollen to several hundred times the Sun's diameter — placed at the center of our solar system, its surface would reach out toward the orbit of Jupiter.

In late 2019 it dimmed dramatically, losing much of its brightness and fueling talk that it might be about to explode as a supernova. Scientists later traced the dimming to a huge dust cloud the star had ejected. Unlike a Sun-like giant, this supergiant is heavy enough to end in a supernova rather than a quiet white dwarf.