Above: Arguably one of the most stunning images ever produced in astrophotography. Orion, with on-again/off-again Betelgeuse oriented here in the upper right corner and brilliant orange, taken and processed by Rogelio Bernal Andreo in October, 2010.
The most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (July-August 2023) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure in English, Italian, Spanish, French, and Arabic at www.astropublishing.com (and facebook).
Regular readers may remember Betelgeuse as the focus of the September-October 2020 issue, when, deep in the throes of COVID, the safest/sanest thing to do was to stay home and read. Every fit and spurt out of this soon-to-be-former-red supergiant may lead all interested parties to ponder if we will be the narrow band of generations to witness what might be the greatest show this part of the Milky Way will offer homo sapiens. Unlike the same fleeting game between celebrities and paparazzi, the imminent demise of Betelgeuse as a red supergiant will be an event that will mark a permanent change in the world, captured for posterity by amateur and professional astronomers alike (if such professions still exist as technology outpaces us) and recorded with far greater detail than those supernovae that have already traveled over recorded millennia, including those of 185, 393, 1006, 1054, 1181, 1572, 1604, and 1987 A.D.
Browser-readable version (and PDF download): www.astropublishing.com/4FAM2023/
