Betelgeuse by numbers

1,000

times the diameter of the Sun.

420

Betelgeuse pulsates, expanding and shrinking on a 420-day cycle.

3,325

degrees Celsius (6,017 degrees Fahrenheit) is the average surface temperature of Betelgeuse.

1988

This star is not to be confused with Tim Burton’s 1988 film Beetlejuice.

15%

Starting in 1993 and continuing for 15 years, the radius of Betelgeuse has shrunk by 15 per cent.

140,000

times the luminosity of the Sun.

The name Betelgeuse has Arabic origins, but the star has alternative names in Sanskrit, traditional Chinese and Hawaiian.