Meteors, Mars, and a Betelgeuse Breakthrough

This week we're watching the skies—and catching up on a stellar mystery. Dual meteor showers light up the pre-dawn hours, Mars gets cozy with the Moon, and a recently discovered nova continues to shimmer faintly in the south.

Later in the show, we check out a brand new discovery that may have finally cracked a thousand-year-old puzzle. Betelgeuse, the red supergiant in Orion, has long puzzled astronomers with its strange long-term brightness variations.

Now, thanks to cutting-edge observations from the Gemini North telescope, we may finally know why. Spoiler: Betelgeuse isn’t alone.

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