Astronomers used Japanese weather satellite to monitor the dimming of Betelgeuse
From Figure 1 of the paper. Click for full image and caption.
In a paper published on May 30th, astronomers described how they used the Japanese weather satellite Himawari-8 to monitor the dimming of Betelgeuse that occurred in 2019 and 2020.
“We saw a tweet stating that the moon was in its images,” Daisuke Taniguchi, a Ph.D. student in astronomy at the University of Tokyo and first author of the paper, told Space.com. “I chatted with [third author] Shinsuke Uno on the usage of meteorological satellites for astronomy, found Betelgeuse is in the field of view of Himawari-8 and realized that maybe the Great Dimming of Betelgeuse could be investigated.”
Himawari-8 has been positioned 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth’s equator since 2015 to study weather and natural disasters (including the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano on Jan. 15). Although the satellite is up there to image Earth every 10 minutes, the edges of its images include stars.
Taniguchi and his colleagues were able to see Betelgeuse in images taken throughout Himawari-8’s lifetime and measured its brightness roughly every 1.7 days between January 2017 and June 2021.
The scientists were lucky that the star’s unexpected dimming happened to occur during this time period. The image above is Figure 1 from their paper (which you can read here).
They note that their observations appeared to confirm the theory that the dimming was caused by a dust cloud crossing in front of the star, not the theory that it was caused by a dark spot on the star’s surface. Moreover, their data suggests that dust was relatively close to the star, and could even been created by a burst from the star.
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From Figure 1 of the paper. Click for full image and caption.
In a paper published on May 30th, astronomers described how they used the Japanese weather satellite Himawari-8 to monitor the dimming of Betelgeuse that occurred in 2019 and 2020.
“We saw a tweet stating that the moon was in its images,” Daisuke Taniguchi, a Ph.D. student in astronomy at the University of Tokyo and first author of the paper, told Space.com. “I chatted with [third author] Shinsuke Uno on the usage of meteorological satellites for astronomy, found Betelgeuse is in the field of view of Himawari-8 and realized that maybe the Great Dimming of Betelgeuse could be investigated.”
Himawari-8 has been positioned 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth’s equator since 2015 to study weather and natural disasters (including the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano on Jan. 15). Although the satellite is up there to image Earth every 10 minutes, the edges of its images include stars.
Taniguchi and his colleagues were able to see Betelgeuse in images taken throughout Himawari-8’s lifetime and measured its brightness roughly every 1.7 days between January 2017 and June 2021.
The scientists were lucky that the star’s unexpected dimming happened to occur during this time period. The image above is Figure 1 from their paper (which you can read here).
They note that their observations appeared to confirm the theory that the dimming was caused by a dust cloud crossing in front of the star, not the theory that it was caused by a dark spot on the star’s surface. Moreover, their data suggests that dust was relatively close to the star, and could even been created by a burst from the star.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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