Betelgeuse

So I'm reading the news online today, and all of a sudden I stumble upon an article claiming that there is the possibility that by 2012 (really, any day now) the state Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice) could go supernova. According to a Dr. Brad Carter from Queensland, Australia, this could be kind of interesting for multiple reasons.

First, Betelgeuse (in the constellation of Orion) is one of the brightest stars in the sky, and it's explosion could cause us to see dual suns in the sky for a period of up to a couple weeks. Theoretically, this might also produce a no-nighttime effect during that time.

Second, when a massive star dies, it can either collapse and turn into a relatively harmless brown star or explode. If it explodes, such a large star might create a neutron star with enormous density and a strong gravitational pull, or it might create a black hole. Considering Betelgeuse is only 1300 light-years away from Earth, this could be interesting.

I'm no expert on astronomy, but it's an interesting article nonetheless. Check it out at http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/tatooines-twin-suns-coming-to-a-planet-near-you-just-as-soon-as-betelgeuse-explodes/story-fn5fsgyc-1225991009247