http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2009/pr-27-09.html

Only a few million years old, Betelgeuse is already dying. Astronomers predict that it’s doomed to explode as a supernova soon, within 1,000 years or so, an event that will be spectacular for Earth’s future inhabitants.

What a formidable sight it must be if we could be anywhere near!