User talk:Luxorion

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Hi,

You quote an estimate for the diameter of Betelgeuse on the Talk:Betelgeuse, but I thought that for large stars like betelgeuse, astronomers normally simply measure the diameters rather than estimating them. Examples of recent measurements of Betelgeuse include:

• First Surface-resolved Results with the IOTA Imaging Interferometer: Detection of Asymmetries in AGB stars, July 2006
• New views of Betelgeuse: multi-wavelength surface imaging and implications for models of hotspot generation, January 2000

I assume that the sizes quoted on Wikipedia would be the measured sizes, and not some kind of theoretical estimate. Is that correct? Rnt20 13:06, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

From Luxorion : I am agree. I speak about "estimation" because Betelgeuse is a supergiant star which behavior is not perfectly known, and astrophysical models approximatives. More, it is a variable star. Thus the only way to get an accurate size is by radioastronomy and for two phases, the minimum and maximum. Free to you to make an average.