From - Sky & Telescope By - Colin Stuart Edited by - Amal Udawatta Orion stars in this image of Orion (at left). Orion's belt also points the way to orange Aldebaran at right. Akira Fujii Astronomers may have discovered a companion star orbiting around Betelgeuse, one of the brightest and most famous stars in the sky. The gravity of this partner could help explain the way Betelgeuse regularly brightens and dims. What's more, Betelgeuse could consume this companion in as little as 10,000 years. . Betelgeuse is one of the best studied stars, with detailed records stretching back more than a century. Thanks to these observations, astronomers know that Betelgeuse is highly variable. The star pulsates violently, which alters its brightness in a pattern that repeats roughly every 400 days. However, there is a second pattern of brightness variation lasting approximately 2,000 days. This second pattern also appears in measurements of the star’s motions toward and away from E