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A rare cosmic phenomenon will be set in the sky tonight (Dec. 11) for some parts of the world.
At 8:17 pm EST Monday (Dec. 11) (0117 GMT, Dec. 12), an asteroid will pass in front of the curious red star Betelgeuse, obscuring it from our vantage point here. in the world and blocked from view for. up to 15 seconds per event called a spell. The asteroid is called 319 Leo, a main belt that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Looking like an egg, 319 Leona is about 50 by 34 miles (80 x 55 kilometers) in size.
Such a thing happens to a famous and shining star is a rare thing. Astrologers call the event “a unique and unique opportunity” to study the image of Betelgeuse, the visible part of the star that emits most of its energy.
The magic is visible only in a narrow channel, however, that extends from central Mexico east to southern Florida. After the route to cross the Atlantic Ocean, the event will be revealed from southern Europe and Eurasia. An interactive map of the path of vision for magic can be found at OccultWatcher.net.
This means that most of us won’t be able to see the magic happening because of where we are on Earth – luckily, however, the Virtual Telescope Project at Rome, Italy will host a Free delivery the event begins with 8pm EDT on Monday, December 11 (0100 GMT on December 12).
Target: Bright star Betelgeuse. Is it about to go supernova?
Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars known to astronomers and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It forms the left shoulder of the constellation Orion and is distinguished by its red color.
This star became the subject of research by astronomers in recent years because it was observed to be very bright and very dim.
Some astronomers think that the star could go supernova and explode in our lifetime, while others think that Betelgeuse still has tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years from reaching that point.
Editor’s note: If you capture a great photo of the magic of Betelgeuse by asteroid 319 Leona that you want to share with Space.com and our news partners for a story or photo award, send photos and comments to spacephotos@space.com.