(NewsNation) — One of the brightest stars in the night sky will disappear from view temporarily on Dec. 12 as an asteroid passes in front of it, causing a rare eclipse.
Part of the Orion constellation, Betelgeuse is a red supergiant 700 light-years from Earth. The 10 million-year-old star is one of the brightest in the sky, visible to the naked eye. It marks Orion’s right shoulder and if you’re wondering how to pronounce it, it’s the same as Beetlejuice.
The star gets its name from a mistranslation of the Arabic word Yad al-Jauzā, which, roughly translated, means Orion’s right hand. It has a long history with humanity, appearing in the ancient Egyptian constellation Osiris and is referenced in Greek mythology.
The asteroid Leona is expected to pass in front of Betelgeuse, causing a rare event astronomers have called a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Leona was recently estimated to be around 34 miles wide and 50 miles long and it’s not clear if the asteroid will completely block Betelgeuse’s light or if it will cause a ring of fire eclipse, where a ring of bright light is visible around the asteroid.
“Which scenario we will see is uncertain, making the event even more intriguing,” said astronomer Gianluca Masa, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project, which will provide a live webcast from Italy.
Astronomers hope the event will help them better understand Betelgeuse, which has shown some strange behavior, including dimming by about 60% in 2019 before returning to full brightness in the spring of 2020. At the time, scientists wondered if the star was preparing to go supernova, something that is predicted to happen in the next 100,000 years.
The eclipse will be visible to those in a narrow path that goes from central Asia’s Tajikistan and Armenia, across Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain, to Miami and the Florida Keys and parts of Mexico.
Betelgeuse is visible with the naked eye, but binoculars or a telescope will give you a better view. To find Betelgeuse, locate the three stars that make up Orion’s belt then look to the left. The reddish star you’ll find there is Betelgeuse. Don’t blink — the eclipse is predicted to last just 15 seconds.
For those who aren’t in a location to see the eclipse in person, the event will be streamed online by the Virtual Telescope Project.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
