One of the night sky’s brightest stars will be eclipsed by the asteroid Leona late Monday into early Tuesday.
Millions of people around the world may be able to witness a rare eclipse on Tuesday, December 12. Betelgeuse, one of the biggest and brightest stars, will briefly disappear from the night sky as an asteroid passes in front of it to create a once-in-a-lifetime eclipse, according astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.
Betelgeuse is a blazing red supergiant in the constellation Orion. A supergiant is the term given to stars nearing the end of their lives. They are the largest stars in the universe because they puff up and expand out into space in their old age, according to NASA. The large star will be eclipsed by the asteroid Leona, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt.
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