APOD: 2020 January 1 - Betelgeuse Imagined

Good afternoon and Happy New Year, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "Betelgeuse Imagined." Located in the constellation Orion (right shoulder as viewed from Earth), Betelgeuse is one of the brightest and most recognized stars in the night sky. Yet it is currently dimmer than it was five months ago. Is the star about to go supernova? Given that Betelgeuse lies 700 light years from Earth, it may have already done so. Orion will look the way it does now for some time to come. Today's APOD is worth a little study to appreciate the size of Betelgeuse and, when it occurs, the resulting supernova. We truly do inhabit a little blue dust mote in a vast universe.