The apparent evolution of Betelgeuse

Date: 0 years

Activity: All that existed prior to the star’s birth was a cloud of gas and dust, lost and alone in the depths of space.

Date: 0 to 190,000 years Activity: At some point this cloud began to collapse under its own gravity, forming a tiny core of dust that continued to gradually accrete more and more mass as it became a protostar – a baby Betelgeuse.

Date: 190,000 to

290,000 years

Activity: During this period the Betelgeuse protostar accumulated 15 times the mass of the Sun, eventually initiating nuclear fusion and becoming a zero age main sequence star.

Date: 290,000 to

8 million years

Activity: For millions of years Betelgeuse was a fraction of the size it is now, burning hydrogen into helium at a tremendous rate. The main sequence phase makes up the majority of a star’s life.

Date: 8 to 9 million years Activity: After rapidly burning out its supply of hydrogen, Betelgeuse entered its red supergiant phase, which it exists in now.

Date: 9 million years

Activity: After an iron core has formed, as a consequence a supernova will occur, spilling out its layers into the cosmos.

Date: Over 9 million years Activity: The core of what was once a gigantic star will be left behind. This can be one of two things: a neutron star or a black hole. Both exist for an indeterminable amount of time.