Betelgeuse's Stellar Feast: Did it Devour a Companion Star?

New research suggests that the recent fluctuations in the luminosity of Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star, may be due to the star consuming a smaller companion in the past. Simulations show that a merger between a massive star and a smaller companion can result in mass loss and high-speed mass flow. The rotation rate and chemical composition of Betelgeuse support the possibility of a past merger. However, more research is needed to fully understand the effects of these mergers on star evolution and supernova progenitors.