Betelgeuse Betelgeuse Betelgeuse!

You may have heard that Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, is fading. The orange star forms the top left corner of Orion, probably winter's most easily recognizable constellations. Prior to this dramatic dimming, Betelgeuse was in the top ten brightest stars. Now it doesn't even crack the top 25. It's been clear the last few nights, and it seems to me that Betelgeuse is a little brighter than it had been, but it may be a matter of lighting since I live in civilization.
While the star will certainly end its stellar life with a supernova explosion, astronomers are fairly certain that won't be happening any time soon. Betelgeuse is a variable star, meaning its brightness changes, but that change isn't usually this noticeable or long-lasting. Current trending possibilities for the dimming are an ejection of dust or a cool surface area.

Betelgeuse's location in Orion (Constellation Guide)

If a cloud of dust came between Betelgeuse and Earth, that would obscure light from the star and make it appear dimmer. It could be an interstellar cloud or material ejected from Betelgeuse itself. The cool area on Betelgeuse's surface wold have to be very large to cause a noticeable dimming here on Earth. That cool spot would be similar to the sunspots we get on our own star, only much larger.
If Betelgeuse were to go supernova, it would be the event of a lifetime. In brightness, it would nearly match a full moon for months. It would be visible during the day for about a year.
This week's information comes from AccuWeather.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meteors

The Orionid meteor shower, happening through the end of October, reaches its peak October 20-22 (Friday-Sunday). Luckily, the peak nights for viewing are on a weekend; the best time for viewing the meteors, which appear to radiate from the constellation Orion, is around 2 AM. Expect to see about 20 meteors per hour.

The Orionids are named for the constellation they appear to radiate from. They are specks of dust and debris left by Halley’s Comet, which last made an appearance in 1986. Comets orbit the sun just like Earth, and leave behind a trail of junk as they orbit. They are basically giant, dirty snowballs and as they near the sun, they begin to melt somewhat, causing the debris trail. If a planet’s orbit crosses the debris field, whatever gets swept into the passing planet’s atmosphere will heat up and burn from friction. Odds are, those bright streaks you see in the night sky are no bigger than a grain of sand.

Meteor facts this week come from Space.com.