Betelgeuse Explosion?

A story seems to be whipping around the Internet saying that the giant star Betelgeuse will explode in 2012, becoming a second sun in Earth's sky. The year would seem to give away the reason this story has gotten traction. According to the Mayan calendar, the world as we know it will end in 2012, and various people, from New Age types to Hollywood producers, have seized on that prediction.

One basis of the story is astronomers' prediction that Betelgeuse will go supernova soon. The "soon" is the issue. There's a huge difference between human timescales and astronomical timescales. Next year may be soon in human terms-- and it fits nicely with the Mayas. In astronomy, however, as in this case, soon may mean thousands or millions of years.

When Betelgeuse does explode, it will be visible in daylight here, but it won't rival the Sun. Nor will it threaten life on Earth. At several hundred light years distant, the explosion of Betelgeuse will be fascinating and spectacular from Earth, but nothing more.