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Next hebdomad , a rare celestial event will occur as an asteroid blockade the blood-red supergiant star Betelgeuse in the configuration Orion .
Betelgeuse , usually the 10th - brightest sensation in the night sky , will briefly blink off Monday , Dec. 11 as theasteroid 319 Leonaappears to pass in front of it from our detail of view on Earth . The upshot , which will last only 12 seconds , will be a valuable opportunity for astronomers to produce a function of the giant star ’s surface , which has been connect toits recent odd behavior .
The red supergiant star Betelgeuse, seen here surrounded by a cloud of dusty matter, is the 10th-brightest in the sky.
It ’s highly unusual for one of the brightest maven in the night sky to be blocked , or " occulted , " by an asteroid . Although the small asteroid may cause a " ring of firing " annular eclipseof Betelgeuse , a modified number of skywatchers will be in the good lieu to see it .
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In addition to being a short consequence , the occultation will be visible only froma minute pathstretching from Asia to southern Europe , Florida and eastern Mexico . The International Occultation Timing Association has a specialpage dedicated to the eventthat includes a downloadable Google Earth file demo the staring route . Viewers within the course will be able to see the occultation withoutbinocularsor atelescope , though both will help enhance the scene of the rarified upshot .
Anyone not in the path can observe a livestream of the event beinghosted by The Virtual Telescope Projectin Italy , which happens to fall within the path of the occultation . The livestream is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. EST on Dec. 11 .
The occultation itself will occur around 8:17 p.m. EST , according toSky & Telescope , though that time could shift by a few minutes as the area of 319 Leona is refine .
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To find Betelegeuse from the Northern Hemisphere in December , wait due east about two hours after sunset , and you ’ll see the three lead of Orion ’s Belt — Alnitak , Alnilam and Mintaka — rising into the sky . To their left , Betelgeuse will be level with Mintaka .
" These form of occultation are very useful to cumber the shape of the asteroid involved , " astrophysicist Gianluca Masi , director of The Virtual Telescope Project , say in astatement . The eclipse may also admit scientists to represent the aerofoil of Betelgeuse . " We will be hopefully able to learn more about its large convective cells , which is aim its variable brightness , " Masi tally .
