The Spectacular Occultation of Betelgeuse by Asteroid 319 Leona: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Celestial Event

2023-12-09 12:41:00
After varying brightness over countless centuries, Betelgeuse dimmed dramatically in 2019, ejecting large amounts of surface material into space. NASA said the resulting dust cloud temporarily blocked starlight. (Credit: NASA, ESA, and E. Wheatley (STScI))[The Epoch Times, December 09, 2023](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Xia Yu) When an asteroid passes between the largest and brightest stars in the night sky, For a moment, it disappears in an instant, creating a one-of-a-kind solar eclipse. This possibly once-in-a-lifetime celestial spectacle will be staged next week. Millions of people can enjoy this rare celestial phenomenon, and some people will even broadcast it live. From the evening of December 11 to the morning of December 12, millions of people can see this rare and short-lived spectacle. Along a narrow celestial path, the occultation area will start from Xinjiang in China and pass through Central Asia. Tajikistan and Armenia, through Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain, to Miami and the Florida Keys, and finally to parts of Mexico. This star is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the constellation Orion, about 700 light-years away from our Earth and visible to the naked eye. Binoculars and small telescopes will enhance the view. One light year is 5.8 trillion miles. The asteroid is 319 Leona, a slowly rotating, oval-shaped space rock located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers hope to learn more about Betelgeuse and Leona through this solar eclipse, which is expected to last no more than 15 seconds. A team led by Spain recently estimated that the asteroid was about 34 miles wide and 50 miles long (55 kilometers wide, 80 kilometers long). There are lingering uncertainties about these predictions, as well as the size of the star and its vast atmosphere. It’s unclear whether the asteroid will obscure the entire star, creating a total solar eclipse. Instead, the result could be a “ring of fire” eclipse, with a tiny fiery boundary surrounding the star. In the case of a total solar eclipse, astronomers are not sure how many seconds it will take for the star to completely disappear from view, perhaps 10 seconds at most. The Associated Press reported that astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project (Virtual Telescope Project), said: “It is still uncertain what kind of scene we will see, and this event will become more interesting. .” The project will broadcast the live broadcast of this celestial spectacle in Italy, which is expected to start at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday. In many Aboriginal cultures, solar eclipses are not just a spectacle but also a way to honor tradition. Betelgeuse is thousands of times brighter than the sun, about 700 times brighter. It’s so massive that if it replaced our sun, it would extend beyond Jupiter, according to NASA. Betelgeuse is only 10 million years old, much younger than the 4.6 billion-year-old Sun. Given Betelgeuse’s mass and the rate at which material is burned, scientists expect Betelgeuse’s lifespan to be short-lived. After varying brightness over countless centuries, Betelgeuse dimmed dramatically in 2019, ejecting large amounts of surface material into space. NASA said the resulting dust cloud temporarily blocked the starlight, and within half a year, Betelgeuse returned to its previous brightness. Scientists predict that Betelgeuse will explode violently and become a supernova within 100,000 years. Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei#
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