Have you ever seen a star burnout?

Question

Have you ever witnessed a star disappear?

Answer 1

No. Stars don't "burn out": they actually get brighter as they age. Given the time scale of stellar evolution, the odds of actually observing something like this among the 4000 stars visible naked eye from Earth are infinitely small.

Answer 2

Yes, I do some work with supernovae, so I've 'seen' a star go through a supernovae and gamma ray burst explosions through my telescopes.  But they don't happen very nearby often (fortunately) so you'll need a telescope to see one.  But amateur astronomers discover supernovae all the time.

Answer 3

Yes, many.  Recently, for example, Brittany Spears and Mary-Kate Ashley, although I suppose they will still make "astronomical" money...

Answer 4

even using the most powerful detection devices availabe we still only see a super nova on average once a day somewhere in the universe... nearly all of these are in other galaxies and can ONLY be seen because their power is so massive  that for that short time, they put out more energy by themselves then the entire rest of the galaxy it's in.

actually witnessing one with the naked eye would be somewhat of a miracle.... VERY few people ever get the honor of being able to truthfully say they saw a star go out.... it's not even a 'once in a lifetime event'.....