Royal Astronomical Society/e-MERLIN
Current estimates predict that Betelgeuse could go supernova within the next one hundred thousand years - or maybe even sooner (one can only hope ☆). The explosion's luminosity is predicted to rival the full moon in our sky and will be visible even during daylight hours.
This event will be a fantastic opportunity for the scientific community to gather huge amounts of data that will test various models of stellar evolution, and all major astronomical instruments are closely monitoring the star. Betelgeuse is expected to shed its atmosphere in a giant explosion that will leave behind either a neutron star or a black hole.
Will Betelgeuse go supernova in our lifetime?