Astronomers predict that Betelgeuse, one of the brightest and largest stars visible from Earth, will temporarily disappear on Monday and Tuesday in a historic “once in a lifetime” event. As the asteroid Leona passes in front of the famous star, some skywatchers in Central Asia’s Tajikistan and Armenia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Miami, Florida, and Mexico will see Betelgeuse gradually dimming. You can almost see it disappear. reports that it lasts between 7 and 12 seconds. Independent.
The peak of this event will be in the U.S. state of Florida at around 8:24:54 pm local time on December 11th, and the midpoint will be in Cordoba, Spain at around 2:15:45 am local time on December 12th. It is expected.
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star located in the constellation Orion. The space rock in question is 319 Leona, an oval asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that rotates slowly.
I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe…
An asteroid covering Orion’s shoulder…of #asteroid (319) Leona will pass in front of the star Betelgeuse, the orange-red “shoulder” of Orion, shortly after 02:00 CET on December 12.
If there is sky… pic.twitter.com/gxEmIzMbjL
— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) December 11, 2023
This star became noticeable because of its “fluctuations in brightness.” Several scientists have also expressed concern that it could soon explode. Scientists are still trying to determine Betelgeuse’s exact size and other characteristics, even though further observations have shown that the star is far from such an endpoint.
Researchers say it’s extremely rare for an asteroid of this size to cross in front of a star, and it can only be seen from Earth once every few decades. They suggest that this unusual event could provide an opportunity to learn new details about Betelgeuse and the asteroid, including its size and the movement of electrically charged gas around the dying star.
The Virtual Telescope Project said, “For a very short period of time but in the distant future, after Betelgeuse explodes as a supernova and turns black, we will see the legendary Orion constellation without its famous orange shoulder.” . provides a live webcast from Italy. CBS News.
Betelgeuse is about 700 times larger and thousands of times brighter than the Sun. NASA claims its mass is so great that it would surpass Jupiter if it were to replace the Sun. However, this star is much younger than our Sun, which is 4.6 billion years old and is only 10 million years old. Scientists don’t expect Betelgeuse to last long, given its mass and the rate at which its material is burning up.
In 2019, Betelgeuse underwent numerous brightness fluctuations due to large amounts of surface material being ejected into space, resulting in a sudden decrease in brightness. A subsequent dust cloud briefly blocked the star’s light, and Betelgeuse returned to its previous brightness six months later, NASA said.