Mainstream Press

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/06/01/is-betelgeuse-about-to-blow/

A dissenting and validly sceptical views....wrong nonetheless. Betelgeuse went supernova centuries ago. One to two years is my best estimate.

The Collapse

http://unixronin.dreamwidth.org/715135.html

Click on the link to find further, albeit speculative information on the collapse of Betelgeuse and the impending supernova. This is going to be scarily bright:

"it could approach apparent magnitude -14, about 2.5 times brighter than the full Moon"

That's is going to be fun, if somewhat disturbing at the same time. I am waiting for the time when I wake up to a new dawn at 2 am!

B-Day : Weeks or Months

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=405304

One must always take posts like this on the internet with a grain of salt however as it serves my own instincts I'll put it up here.

The poster on the following link:

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=405304

Is suggesting that recent observations from an observatory on Hawaii are implying that Betelgeuse will blow in a matter of weeks or months rather than years. Exciting stuff! An excerpt follows:

I was talking to my son last week (he works on Mauna Kea), and he mentioned some new observations (that will no doubt get published eventually) of "Beetlejuice"; it's no longer round. This is a huge star, and when it goes, it will be at least as bright as that 1054 supernova...except that this one is 520 light years away, not 6,300

.....and the best part......

The buzz is that this is weeks/months away, not the "any time in the next thousand years" that's in all the books.

Follow its here at http://bgsupernova.blogspot.com

Earth Sky 90 second interview

Listen to a 90 second discussion on Betelgeuse and its supernova potential.

Direct link at : http://earthsky.org/space/betelgeuse-could-become-supernova

600 Years Ago a Star Exploded!

At approximately 600 light years from earth the light from Betelgeuse originated in the 14th century. Betelgeuse is a relatively young star at only a couple of million years in age and inherently unstable. It can be viewed in the constellation Orion as the left shoulder of the hunter and is distinguished by its clear orange/red colour. When the light from the star's explosion finally reaches us it will be 3-4 times as bright as the full moon and clearly visible in daylight!

Get ready for the show of a millenia.

More to follow.