Rare Eclipse: Passing Asteroid to Eclipse Bright Star Betelgeuse, Visible to Millions

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 whether the eclipse will be total or a "ring of fire" eclipse. Betelgeuse, a red supergiant, is thousands of times brighter than our sun and is expected to go supernova within 100,000 years.