Photo: Famous Star Is Shrinking, Puzzling Astronomers

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A Hubble Space Telescope image taken in 1996 shows the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars in the familiar constellation Orion.

Betelgeuse, one of the largest known stars, is shrinking rapidly and no one knows why, astronomers said at a June 2009 meeting.

Image courtesy A. Dupree (CfA), R. Gilliland (STScI), NASA

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