Get ready for a rare cosmic explosion about to light up the sky- here’s how you can catch the sky show!
The T Coronae Borealis star, also known as the ‘Blaze Star’ will be visible to the naked eye for perhaps only for a few hours and up to a couple of days, and those with binoculars will probably enjoy the view for just over a week before it fades away again for up to 80 years .
This stellar bright light will appear in the Corona Borealis constellation, a semicircular arc of faint, naked-eye stars nestled between the more familiar superbright stars in the southwest skies – Vega and Arcturus visible after darkness falls in late summer.
For skywatchers across most of Northern Hemisphere the constellation rides near the overhead skies during late evenings around spring and summer seasons. It takes the shape of a crown.
Weather permitting skywatchers will be able to spot the nova at its peak brightness for at least a few days in a row.
What is the T Coronae Borealis Nova?
The T Coronae Borealis nova is a rare event, one of just ten recurring novas in our galaxy.
This spectacular phenomenon occurs in a binary system made up of two stars: a “white dwarf” (the remains of a dead star) and a “red giant” (a dying star that has exhausted its core’s hydrogen supply).
Credit: NASA
Due to their close orbit, the red giant’s material gets pulled by gravity onto the surface of the white dwarf. Over time, this accumulation heats up enough to trigger a runaway “nuclear fusion eruption,” causing the star to brighten by hundreds of times.
When exactly will we see the star explode? All we know is that it is following historical patterns of brightness fluctuations that it has before previous explosion occurring back in 1866 and 1946. So expectations are that it will happen between now and September.
So my suggestion is to become familiar with the constellation Corona Borealis, where it is in the sky and what it normally looks like without the Blaze star visible. That way you will be prepared for when it does explode. Of course I will be on the look out with a regular vigil and so make sure to follow my social feeds and sign up for my newsletter and I’ll let you know when the Blaze star does explode.
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