Sky News - CA (2020-03 & 2020-04)

Betelgeuse dims; amateur astronomers shine

At the end of 2019, one of Orion’s shoulders dimmed — and it
was amateurs working with professionals to monitor the star
that exposed just how much its light had faded.

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant and semiregular variable star.
Villanova University astrophysicist Edward Guinan — who
has been collecting data about the star since 1981 — said it
was dimmer this past December than had ever been recorded.

“Orion doesn’t look the same — that star’s so faint,” he said.
“You can still see it, but ... it’s noticeable, its faintness.”

Writing in he Astronomer’s Telegram in December, Guinan
said at its average maximum brightness, which ranges
between 0.3 and 0.4 magnitude. Betelgeuse is the sixth or
seventh brightest star. But by mid-December 2019, it had
slipped to about the 21st place.

Listed as co-authors on the report are amateur astronomer
Tom Calderwood and Richard Wasatonic, another Villanova
astronomy professor who Guinan said began as an amateur
astronomer.

In an interview, Calderwood said Betelgeuse’s brilliance

can make it hard to observe. He noted this is one reason

there is a good outlook in the future of amateur astronomy.

“A lot of the dimmer stars are going to get covered by

computerized systems every night, but the brighter stars

are going to saturate [professionals’] instruments,” he said.

As a member of the American Association of Variable Star

Observers, Calderwood said he is actively looking for

more volunteers.

“What I can say is we — I was the front man here. I was

invited to participate. I didn’t have to force my way into

this. here were people that were glad to see the data,”

he said, noting that he is looking for volunteers for other

projects, as well.

Anyone who is interested in more information about

monitoring variable stars can contact Calderwood at

[email protected].

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SKYNEWS • MAR/APR 2020