Rare celestial event captured on video: Asteroid Leona eclipses Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis)

Main belt asteroid Leona transited red supergiant Betelgeuse on December 12, 2023 (UTC), temporarily dimming or obscuring it from the night sky.

Leona’s characteristics, including its oblong shape measuring approximately 80 x 55 km (50 x 34 miles) and rotation, added to the unpredictability and magnificence of the eclipse.

Alpha Orionis — also known as Betelgeuse, is a relatively young star at about 10 million years old, located approximately 700 light-years away. The star has garnered attention, especially after its dramatic dimming in 2019, attributed to a large ejection of surface material.

Betelgeuse’s future continues to be a subject of scientific intrigue, with predictions of it going supernova in an explosive event within the next 100 000 years.

Featured image credit: startrails (stillshot)