Although its magnitude varies slightly, this blue giant is always prominent. With Betelgeuse,
it forms the 'shoulders' of Orion the Hunter.
An active star, several times more massive than our Sun,
Bellatrix is approaching the end of the current stage of its lifecycle,
and is expected to evolve into an orange giant within a matter
of a few million years. Already, it has developed a growing shell of gaseous matter that heralds the beginning of its transformation.
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