This was years ago when I was a kid. Between 1997-2000. Summertime in Ohio. My cousin and I were outside at night laying on the trampoline, start gazing. I noticed one of the "stars" near Orion's Belt was a lot brighter than the others. It didn't seem like long after I pointed it out to my cousin, it quickly dimmed to nothing. Gone. After I got older I learned about how stars can die. Is this what I witnessed? Is that something scientists keep track of or that can be traced?