Actually Betelgeuse.

In relation to reports that this start will go super-nova next year, and look like a second sun in our sky…

FALSE.   (There is a lot of this misinformation in the news of late… journalists really do need to get back to actual investigation before reporting.    Wikipedia is a poor source.)

We don’t know when it will super-nova, we just know that it will.  Could be in 2012.  Could be 202012.   Could be tomorrow.

Regardless, it won’t be as bright as they are suggesting.   Maybe up to the magnitude of a crescent moon.    We’ll definitely be able to see it, probably even in broad daylight.

I’m sure it will freak a lot of people out when it happens… but the biggest impact to us is how its going to mess up the constellation of Orion.   So enjoy it while you can.   Who knows, you might live long enough to have a before and after memory of Orion.

Regardless, this is a pretty picture of Betelgeuse… an artists renditioning though, not direct imaging.

…and the Ori created the first stars in their image…