The observations found that HD 144812 is a rare post-red supergiant orbited by a companion star. The finding was reported in a paper published March 25 on the arXiv pre-print server.

A red supergiant star transitions into a type II supernova in this animation. Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko | ...

This contrasts with earlier discoveries, which predominantly identified blue "supergiants" similar to Rigel and Deneb, which ...

Betelgeuse, the tenth brightest star, is a red supergiant in Orion. It’s so large it could engulf the Sun if placed at its center.