Alpha Orionis -

If placed at the center of our solar system, it would engulf the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, likely extending past Jupiter's orbit .

A red supergiant nearing the end of its life cycle. alpha orionis

Despite being only about 8 to 10 million years old —much younger than our 4.6-billion-year-old Sun—its massive size caused it to evolve rapidly. If placed at the center of our solar

In late 2019 and early 2020, it experienced a historic drop in brightness, eventually attributed to a massive surface mass ejection that cooled into an obscuring dust cloud. alpha orionis