Rare Eclipse: Passing Asteroid to Vanish Bright Star Betelgeuse in Spectacular Event

An asteroid named Leona will pass in front of the bright star Betelgeuse, creating a rare and fleeting eclipse visible to millions of people along a narrow path from central Asia to parts of Mexico. Astronomers hope to learn more about both the star and the asteroid through this event, which is expected to last no more than 15 seconds. There are uncertainties regarding the size of the asteroid and the star, as well as the type of eclipse that will occur. Betelgeuse, a red supergiant, is thousands of times brighter and 700 times bigger than our sun, and scientists expect it to go supernova within 100,000 years.