Editing Betelgeuse (section)

===Mass===
Betelgeuse has no known orbital companions, so its mass cannot be calculated by that direct method. Modern mass estimates from theoretical modelling have produced values of {{Solar mass|9.5–21|link=y}},<ref name=NEILSON2011>
{{cite conference
 | last1=Neilson | first1=H.R.
 | last2=Lester | first2=J. B.
 | last3=Haubois | first3=X.
 | date=December 2011
 | title=Weighing Betelgeuse: Measuring the mass of {{nobr|{{mvar|α}} Orionis}} from stellar limb-darkening
 | journal=[[Astronomical Society of the Pacific]]
 | volume=451  | page = 117
 | conference=9th Pacific Rim Conference on Stellar Astrophysics. Proceedings of a conference held at Lijiang, China in 14–20 April 2011. ASP Conference Series
 | arxiv = 1109.4562
 | bibcode = 2011ASPC..451..117N
}}
</ref>
with values of {{solar mass|5}}–{{solar mass|30}} from older studies.<ref name=POSSON>
{{cite arXiv
 |last1=Posson-Brown |first1=Jennifer       |last2=Kashyap |first2=Vinay L.
 |last3=Pease        |first3=Deron O.       |last4=Drake   |first4=Jeremy J.
 |year=2006
 |title=Dark supergiant: Chandra's limits on X-rays from Betelgeuse
 |eprint=astro-ph/0606387
}}
</ref>
It has been calculated that Betelgeuse began its life as a star of {{solar mass|15–20}}, based on a solar luminosity of 90,000–150,000&nbsp;.<ref name=SMITH2009/> A novel method of determining the supergiant's mass was proposed in 2011, arguing for a current stellar mass of {{solar mass|11.6}} with an upper limit of 16.6 and lower of {{solar mass|7.7}}, based on observations of the star's intensity profile from narrow H-band interferometry and using a photospheric measurement of roughly {{val|4.3|u=AU}} or {{solar radius|{{val|955|217}}}}.<ref name=NEILSON2011/> A probabilistic age prior analysis give a current mass of {{solar mass|16.5–19}} and an initial mass of {{solar mass|18–21}}.<ref name=joyce2020/>

Betelgeuse's mass can also be estimated based on its position on the [[Hertzsprung–Russell diagram|color{{Nbh}}magnitude{{Nbh}}diagram&nbsp;(CMD)]]. Betelgeuse's color may have changed from yellow (or possibly orange; i.e. a yellow supergiant) to red in the last few thousand years, based on a 2022 review of historical records. This color change combined with the CMD suggest a mass of {{solar mass|14}}, an age of 14&nbsp;million year and a distance from 125 to 150&nbsp;parsecs (~400 to 500&nbsp;light years).<ref name=Neuhauser2022/>