But all of that extra attention has led to another remarkable find. As it turns out, Betegeuse isn’t alone—it actually has a nearby companion star. The never-before-seen celestial object is detailed in two separate studies scheduled to publish on July 24 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The two objects make for a strange pair. Unlike Betelgeuse, which is approaching the end of its life, the blue-white companion (or Betelbuddy) has yet to start burning hydrogen in its core. In other words, the star hasn’t entered the chapter of its life known as the main sequence — one that characterizes many stars, including our own.

Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, and the closest red supergiant to Earth. It has an enormous volume, spanning a radius around 700 times that of the sun. Despite only being ten million years old,