"Two Suns in 2012"
Hey Space Placers! Several MAJOR news outlets are picking up a news article that says Earth will have two suns in 2012. Well I gotta' tell you I was amazed to read these articles and dreaded the effect it would have on people reading them. The story centers on the red giant star Betelgeuse going supernova - exploding - in 2012 and becoming bright enough "so that there are 24 hours of sunlight", hence the 2 suns. Well, couple that with the doomsday poppycock of 2012 and there you have it - a story to go viral on the 'net just like the Mars hoax that blossoms EVERY year in August. The Mars hoax dates back to August 2003 and said that Mars will be as big as the Full Moon. I get questions about it every year...... Betelgeuse WILL go supernova some day and become very bright but will NOT become a second sun - no way, no how. It MAY become bright enough for a few weeks to a month to be visible during daylight hours right after it explodes as it is about 600 light year...