A very good documentary on Betelgeuse. What's Betelgeuse?

It's a huge red giant star I heard about in grade school (pronounced Beetle Juice, I think though I've heard some folks say Bettlegeese).

It's real unstable and on the brink of exploding, supernova style. Only 640 light years from Earth, but they think the brunt of the blast will miss Earth. Gamma ray bursts from the poles would go another direction missing Earth. Being about to blast in astronomical time means sometime in the next several thousand years, tho.

This video is real good, in my opinion. Tells much about the history of our research about this star. Doesn't have a lot of "shocker whoom" sound or blast hype, like movies often do. It's very educational. I also enjoy the background music. Kind of relaxing, ironically because it is about an eventual super nova.

If Betelgeuse were to blow in our lifetimes, there would be a really bright star in the sky for about 4 days. Visible in the daytime at 100 times the brightness of the full moon. It would provide much excitement for scientists and the public alike, but who knows when that moment will occur.