(I've always had a secret hope that it would go nova before I die..)

There is no reason it couldn't go supernova in the next few days, few years, or even the next few thousands of years. But my hope to see it has never been a very well kept secret. It would be the high point of my stargazing life.

Betegeuse has always been my "favorite" star, I'd love to see it go,,,,,,

To all fo you guys above...I also had this dream of being able to see a "day light" S.N.!
If the "Shoulder of the Giant" can give us this fantastic gift it would be a life time UNBELIEVABLE experience!
Cheers!

Frankly, I don't give a flying **** what is happening 5000 years from now, and out as far as Beetlejuice. In other words: SO WHAT?!

I'm a little more concerned about how I'm going to pay the rent, feed and clothe myself over the next few years, right here on my home planet, Earth.

Frankly, I don't give a flying **** what is happening 5000 years from now, and out as far as Beetlejuice. In other words: SO WHAT?!

I'm a little more concerned about how I'm going to pay the rent, feed and clothe myself over the next few years, right here on my home planet, Earth.

Then why waste your time reading these comments? Much less wasting your time visiting astronomy sites?

It would indeed be glorious if Betelgeuse were to go supernova in our lifetimes.
But Eta Carinae looks much more likely to go in the next few decades than Betelgeuse. While ~10x farther away, it is also much bigger, a true giant among stars, and would also be glorious.

Re: "Frankly, I don't give a flying **** what is happening 5000 years from now, and out as far as Beetlejuice. In other words: SO WHAT?! I'm a little more concerned about how I'm going to pay the rent, feed and clothe myself over the next few years, right here on my home planet, Earth."

I suspect, actually, that many people feel very similarly about modern cosmology and astrophysics, and simply don't express it. This is what happens when your cosmology fails to account for the first 5,000 years of human storytelling, and with it the origin of language, the fundamental archetypes and complex human thought. Had science adopted a more constructivist approach to cosmology, people might be able to pick the one which has the most meaning for them personally. For me, when I see red dwarf press releases, I prefer Wal Thornhill's interpretation. In that worldview, the red dwarfs are incredibly important because the EU predicts that they are the ideal locus for the origin of life.

I think Betelgeuse would be bright enough to scare the hell out of people when it explodes, if it undergoes the same process as the Crab. Since it is ten times closer than the Crab, it should be 100 times brighter per unit mass. Also, if the real mass is somewhere in the middle of the estimates then it is also about 20% to 40% more massive than the Crab Nebula star before it exploded.

So we may be talking more like 120 to 140 times as bright as the crab nebula supernova, which was itself visible to the naked eye for quite some time. Might not be something you'd want to look at in an amateur telescope or binoculars, as you may need filters or risk eye damage...

Jonnyboy: stand facing North. East is to your right. Now tilt your head back so that you're looking straight up. East remains to your right, but compared to the direction your eyes are facing north is now down. Take a picture like this and north will be down while east is right. Tilt your head downward while your body still faces north and look straight down at the ground. East is still to the right, but now north is "up" relative to the direction you are looking. Take a picture like this and directions will be exactly like they are on any standard land map.

Jonnyboy: stand facing North. East is to your right.

Try this. Stand facing south and point your camera south and up at 45 degrees elevation. Then rotate the camera 45 degrees clockwise and take your picture. The north celestial pole will be to the top left of the picture while east will be to the bottom left.

As you described it, you had your back to the star.

COSMIC PREDICTION
-- James Ph. Kotsybar

Betelgeuse is gonna blow!
It's just a matter of time
It's only ten million years old
But already well past its prime.
Betelgeuse is gonna blow:
Its hydrogen fuel is spent,
And though it's switched its diet,
And decreased by fifteen percent,
Betelgeuse is gonna blow,
And it's gonna happen soon --
Within a hundred thousand years
It will seem as bright as the moon.
When exactly, we don't know,
But Betelgeuse is gonna blow!