00:01Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
00:03No, I'm not talking about the ghoulish star of the hit film from 1988.
00:08I'm talking about the other Beetlejuice star.
00:17Beetlejuice is one of the brightest stars in our night sky.
00:20It's relatively close to Earth at just 642.5 light years away.
00:27And it's seriously massive, about 20 times the mass of our Sun.
00:33Astronomers have been observing the star for decades.
00:36But while observing the star in late 2019,
00:39some astronomers noticed that it was seriously dimming and fast.
00:44Now, every star will one day die in a fiery explosion known as a supernova.
00:49And being approximately 8.5 million years old,
00:53some astronomers thought that Beetlejuice,
00:55a star with a life expectancy of about 9 million years,
00:58might just be dimming in preparation for its demise.
01:02However, in speaking with scientists and astronomers about the star's strange behavior,
01:07it seems as though it's likely that Beetlejuice isn't preparing for its fiery end.
01:12It could just be going through an especially dim period.
01:16In fact, many astronomers think that Beetlejuice might not explode for another 100,000 years.
01:21Still, whether or not Beetlejuice is preparing to go supernova,
01:26astronomers and sky watchers all over the globe suggest that people still look up to observe the star as it
01:33goes through these strange changes.
01:35So, how can you spot Beetlejuice in the night sky?
01:38Well, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, look south, and vice versa.
01:44If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, look north, and you'll see the constellation Orion.
01:49On the upper left of the constellation, right at Orion's shoulder, you should be able to spot an orange-reddish
01:55star.
01:55That's Beetlejuice.
01:58So, whether the famous star goes supernova tonight, tomorrow, or in 100,000 years,
02:05it's always fun to watch it glow and dim in the night sky.
02:09With Space.com, I'm Chelsea Goad.
02:12Stay tuned right here to keep up to date with all things space
02:16and to see whether or not this strange star will explode.
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