Editing Betelgeuse (section)

===Occultations===
[[File:Leona Betelgeuse.png|thumb|left|upright=1.35|Predicted path using SOLEX]]
Betelgeuse is too far from the ecliptic to be occulted by the major planets, but occultations by some [[asteroid]]s (which are more wide-ranging and much more numerous) occur frequently. A partial occultation by the 19th magnitude asteroid {{mp|(147857) 2005 UW|381}} occurred on 2 January 2012. It was partial because the angular diameter of the star was larger than that of the asteroid; the brightness of Betelgeuse dropped by only about 0.01 magnitudes.<ref name="occult">{{Cite web |last=Denissenko |first=Denis |date=3 October 2004 |title=Unique occultations |url=http://hea.iki.rssi.ru/~denis/special.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216061951/http://hea.iki.rssi.ru/~denis/special.html |archive-date=16 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hanslmeier |first=Arnold |title=Introduction to Astronomy and Astrophysics |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-662-64636-6 |pages=303–335 |chapter=State Variables of Stars |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-64637-3_8}}</ref>

The 14th magnitude asteroid [[319 Leona]] was predicted to occult on 12 December 2023, 01:12 UTC.<ref name="AT-20231209">{{cite news |last=Sigismondi |first=Costantino |date=9 December 2023 |title=The occultation of Betelgeuse by Leona: recovering the stellar surface brightness of a red supergiant, with a diffuse telescope, on Dec 12 1:12 UT |url=https://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=16374 |work=[[The Astronomer's Telegram]] |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231212022447/https://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=16374 |archivedate=12 December 2023 |accessdate=11 December 2023 }}</ref> Totality was at first uncertain, and the occulation was projected to only last approximately twelve seconds (visible on a narrow path on Earth's surface, the exact width and location of which was initially uncertain due to lack of precise knowledge of the size and path of the asteroid).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sigismondi |first=Costantino |year=2020 |title=The partial asteroidal occultation of Betelgeuse on Jan 2, 2012 |journal=Gerbertvs |volume=13 |page=25 |arxiv=1112.6398 |bibcode=2020Gerb...13...25S}}</ref> Projections were later refined as more data were analyzed for<ref>{{Cite web |title=IOTA-ES |url=https://www.iota-es.de/betelgeuse2023.html |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=www.iota-es.de}}</ref> a totality ("ring of fire") of approximately five seconds and a 60&nbsp;km wide path stretching from Tajikistan, Armenia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, the Atlantic Ocean, Miami, Florida and the [[Florida Keys]] to parts of Mexico.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/dec/08/eclipse-betelgeuse-star-asteroid|title=Astronomers brace for rare eclipse as asteroid to pass in front of bright star|agency=Associated Press|date=8 December 2023|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> (The serendiptous event would also afford detailed observations of 319 Leona itself.)<ref>{{cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Joe |date=December 10, 2023 |title=A massive star called Betelgeuse will be briefly obscured by an asteroid Monday night |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/12/10/1218448190/a-massive-star-called-betelgeuse-will-be-briefly-obscured-by-an-asteroid-monday-}}</ref> Among other programmes 80 [[citizen science|amateur astronomers]] in Europe alone have been coordinated by astrophysicist [[Miguel Montargès]], et al. of the [[Paris Observatory]] for the event.<ref>{{cite web |last=Guenot |first=Marianne |date=Dec 7, 2023 |title=Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars in the sky, will almost disappear next week. Here's how to see it. |website=[[MSN]] |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/betelgeuse-one-of-the-brightest-stars-in-the-sky-will-almost-disappear-next-week-heres-how-to-see-it/ar-AA1l9jJK |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227010556/https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/betelgeuse-one-of-the-brightest-stars-in-the-sky-will-almost-disappear-next-week-heres-how-to-see-it/ar-AA1l9jJK |archive-date=2023-12-27 |url-status=live}}</ref>