When next you look heavenward and identify the constellation of Orion the Hunter, glance to his right shoulder (bottom left in the Southern Hemisphere, as Orion stands on his head there!) and you will see Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), the eighth (some sources say ninth) brightest star in the night sky.
Betelgeuse, more than 600 light years distant from this planet, is a dying red supergiant scheduled to exhaust its fuel supply, collapse under its own weight and explode into a new existence as a supernova any time between now and the next 100,000 years. It will then be so brilliant that it will be visible in broad daylight and brighter than the moon.
Some journalists have seized the opportunity to link this with the prediction that the world will end in 2012, claiming that there will be two suns in the sky. Astronomers discount this as irresponsible scaremongering. Betelgeuse is too far away to make any impact on Earth.
So, gaze at the firmament with wonder and enjoy Betelgeuse while you may!
