See Orion hunt the half-lit moon on Oct. 12

Look to the eastern horizon shortly before midnight on Oct. 12 to see the moon rising majestically with the red giant Betelgeuse and the stars of the constellation Orion. Jupiter will be close on their heels.

Head out an hour before midnight local time to see the half-lit moon climb above the northeastern horizon, with the reddish light of Betelgeuse twinkling brightly to its right. The left half of the lunar disk will be bathed in direct sunlight and its left veiled in shadow.

The constellation Orion will provide a wealth of beautiful naked eye targets to observe on the night of Oct. 12. Most notable is the red star Betelgeuse , a colossal stellar body in the twilight of its existence. It is expected to explode in a dramatic supernova as bright as a full moon in Earth's sky upon exhaust