Which asteroid is to traverse the path of Betelgeuse? Bright red star to go through rare eclipse next week

An eclipse unlike any other will take place as an asteroid passes in front of Betelgeuse, one of the largest and brightest stars in the night sky. It is a red supergiant in the Orion constellation.

Due to an unusual cosmic alignment, this famous supergiant star will go through an amazing "occultation," disappearing on Monday, according to media reports. Millions of people should be able to view the unusual and brief phenomenon along a limited path starting late Monday, December 11, and continuing until early Tuesday, December 12.

An asteroid known as 319 Leona will cross the star's path during this brief period of absence, which will last for just 12 seconds, hiding it from Earth's viewers. After the eclipse, astronomers hope to discover more about Betelgeuse and Leona.

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The disappearance of Betelgeuse and the eclipse can be seen from different parts of Asia and Europe

Betelgeuse will soon undergo a very rare form of eclipse (Image via NASA)

In the second week of December, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, Betelgeuse, will briefly disappear from view, resulting in a celestial occurrence. It's a unique occurrence when an asteroid passes past a big star like Betelgeuse and covers it up for a while.

As per the Guardian, astronomers may be able to map these turbulent characteristics and learn more about the mechanisms that could trigger a star explosion like this one when Leona passes across Betelgeuse.

There are still unanswered questions regarding the star's mass and its vast atmosphere. Furthermore, no one can be sure whether the asteroid will completely block the star and cause a total eclipse. Instead, there might be a "ring of fire" eclipse with a tiny, burning border surrounding the star. Additionally, the astronomers are even unsure of how long the star will fully disappear during a total eclipse, possibly as long as ten seconds.

As per Gianluca Masa, an astronomer and the creator of the Virtual Telescope Project,

“Which scenario we will see is uncertain, making the event even more intriguing.”

As per spaceweather.com, millions of people will have the opportunity to see Betelgeuse get fainter or even vanish completely along a route that stretches from southern Florida to Europe. The event will only be seen from a small area of the world, with the best places to observe it being in eastern Mexico and southern Florida in the United States, as well as in parts of Asia, like Tajikistan and Armenia, and southern Europe, like Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Spain.

It will be visible from these specific regions on December 11 at 8:17 p.m. ET (New York time) or December 12 at 1:17 a.m. GMT (London time).

The event can be seen with naked eyes, although a telescope or binoculars might help. For the best visibility, interested people can be somewhere with clear skies and no pollution.

There will be virtual simulations, like the one offered by the Virtual Telescope Project, that allow those who are not in the direct viewing area to experience what it would be like for Orion to lose the bright star. Furthermore, it can also be seen with the help of stargazing software such as Night Sky on the iPhone.

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Meanwhile, astronomers have claimed that Betelgeuse has been acting strangely for years, as if it were about to blow up and go supernova.

They further explained that the star's surface is a chaotic spectacle made up of massive convection cells that rise and fall to shape the star. It is believed that these convective patterns contribute to the star's eventual fate as a supernova, a cosmic explosion that may transpire in millennia.