Plant diseases can be infectious (transmitted from plant to plant) or noninfectious. Noninfectious diseases are usually referred to as disorders. Common plant disorders are caused by deficiencies in plant nutrients, by waterlogged or polluted soil, and by polluted air.
Such refinements in the images of Betelgeuse's atmosphere has been helping to resolve the mystery of how massive amounts of dust and gas are expelled from red supergiant stars, an important source of enrichment for the interstellar medium.
This cool space wallpaper is a composite color image of the Herschel PACS 70, 100, 160 micron-wavelength images of Betelgeuse. Credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS/L. Decin et al Betelgeuse is a star nearing the end of its life.