Is it theoretically possible to see a spiral galaxy head on, and side on, if there is a convenient gravitational lensing effect? turned me on to astronomer Mike Merrifield's excellent Sixty Symbols videos.
After about 03:20 in the video Betelgeuse might explode (in the next 150,000 years) - Sixty Symbols Merrifield says about the possibility of observing Betelgeuse going supernova:
I'd be prepared to put a fair amount of money on it not going in my lifetime, which would be a shame because I'd love to see it!
He then goes on to talk about a specific on-line wager he's made about discovering evidence life on Mars - in this case something larger than single celled bacteria but not necessarily alive now, i.e. fossils would count. It's an actual monetary bet as far as I can gather.
I'm just curious if this is the only example of an astronomer placing and registering a wager on an astronomical topic, or if there are further examples, or even a collection of "Astronomy bets" that could be visited.
Question: What are some notable bets Astronomers place on Astronomy, e.g. Mike Merrifield's on Mars; is there a list of them?
"bonus points" for tracking down Merrifield's Mars bet and finding out the details.