Betelgeuse and Orion: Maximum Weirdness

My fascination with the night sky began as a child spending time in the country. The lure was the sheer number of stars - and seeing shooting stars! A cricket chorus only added to the enjoyment. I didn't give much thought to constellations until an evening course at the Haydn Planetarium given by Steven L. Beyer, author of "The Star Guide: A Unique System for Identifying the Brightest Stars in the Sky." (That was our "text" and remains a well-worn treasure!) Over four nights, our little group was ushered into the planetarium, which we had all to ourselves!!! The giant dome was set for either Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall. It was a killer on the neck! But it was wonderful to be gazing up listening to this expert's lecture on that season's night sky, including all sort of legends and lore. Living in a metro area, skywatching was pretty much limited *to* a planetarium! But now regardless of where you live, with cheap "energy efficient" lighting, the situation has only gotten Worse. We (humans) didn't keep our Lighting the same and experience Less Energy Use/Cost: we kept our Costs the same and just used More Light. Artificial Light. It was so sad to hear astronomer kelsey johnson's ted talk only confirming what skywatchers have known for years. For me, first there was the city, then suburban street lights and outrageously blinding lights on people's homes and garages "for security purposes." Even now, living in God's country - or so you'd think, on one side I'm near a shopping plaza with lighting to rival Yankee Stadium and on the other a stadium-lit auto dealership. It kind of takes the fun out of looking up at night, no less in oft-cloudy New England. Well, on clear nights I still try to "make an arc to Arcturus" and scout out other old friends. But these days I'm more likely to skywatch here at the almanac. :D Still, you've made me curious about Betelgeuse. I'll have to see if I can find it. (It's been cloudy so far.) Thanks for pointing out this unusual phenomena - and, in general, the column. :)

Thank you. Will look tonight.