The Mystery of the Be Phenomenon, Part 1

Some stars are just weird

This is part one of a series of newsletters about Be stars, a weird type of star that has been known for over a century and is still not fully understood by astronomers today. Part two will be along in a few weeks.

The year is 1886, and Catholic priest Angelo Secchi is working his way through a list of 4,000 stars. He's pointing his telescope at each one…