When to look for the rare nova T Coronae Borealis explosion
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When to look for the rare nova T Coronae Borealis explosion

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When to look for the rare nova T Coronae Borealis explosion

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An explosion in space so huge you’ll be able to look up and see it in the night sky without a telescope could happen “at any moment,” a NASA expert said Wednesday. The stellar explosion, called newwill make it seem as if a new star is shining on Earth. However, it will not shine forever.

This particular new star is rare, experts say, occurring once every 80 years or so, meaning sky lovers will likely have a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance to see it.

Here’s what we know about T Coronae Borealis, nicknamed “Blaze Star.”

When in 2024 will people be able to see a rare nova explosion?

According to a NASA article from June, some researchers say T Coronae Borealis could become a nova in September 2024.

“We hope it will happen any day now,” said Dr. Rebekah Hounsell, assistant scientist for nova events at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, who cautioned that no exact date could be set. “The timing of when it will happen is an estimate. We hope this year, we hope this month.”

Can the new one be seen already?

Not yet. A few months ago, astronomers at the Planetary Society in May predicted a 70% chance that T Coronae Borealis, known as “T-Cor-Bor,” would go nova by September. They estimated a 95% chance of exploding by the end of the year.

How bright will the nova be in 2024?

The nova is easy to spot if you know where to look, experts say, and the star should shine as brightly as Polaris.

“It will be very, very obvious,” Hounsell said. “The star is only 3,000 light-years away in the northern constellation of Corona, so it will be similar to Polaris, which is extremely bright.”

That’s about 17 quadrillion miles. Still, Planetary Society scientists say the nova explosion will likely be the brightest seen on Earth since 1975.

What is new?

The word “nova” comes from the Latin word meaning “new”. In astronomical terms, it may seem that there is new a star in the sky, even if it is very old and in the final stage of its life.

As NASA explains, during a nova event, a white dwarf star explodes with energy.

White dwarfs are not much larger than the planet Earth, Hounsell said. They are usually too faint to see at night, but when a nova occurs, the sudden explosion can cause the star to shine brightly enough to be seen with the naked eye from a trillion miles away.

What causes a star to become nova?

Stars don’t always get along, experts say. Most stars are gravitationally bound to one or more companion stars, and things can get interesting — or violent — if those stars get too close.

Sometimes, when a small white dwarf orbits a normal star, it can suck energy out of the larger star. That’s because a white dwarf has about the same mass as Earth’s sun, Hounsell said. Its gravity is incredibly strong — not as strong as a black hole, according to the Adler Planetarium, but about 100,000 to 300,000 times stronger than Earth’s gravity.

“So the material is being pulled away from the companion star by the white dwarf’s gravity,” Hounsell said. “That material builds up in layers on the white dwarf’s surface, and the layers get really, really hot, but the material can’t expand.”

Eventually, the pressure and heat trigger a massive thermonuclear explosion that we call a nova.

What is the difference between a nova and a supernova?

A supernova is a final, fiery explosion that can destroy a dying star. It can briefly outshine entire galaxies, Space.com writes, and radiate more energy than our sun will produce in its entire life. But while supernovas happen only once, a nova can happen multiple times.

After a nova explodes, the dwarf star remains intact and the cycle of producing another explosion begins again. This can take tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years, according to NASA.

In the case of T Coronae Borealis, the cycle repeats about once every 80 years.

When did T Coronae Borealis last become a nova?

The last nova of T Coronae Borealis occurred in February 1946. It also erupted 80 years earlier, in 1866. One astronomer described the event by saying, “In color the star appeared almost white with a bluish tinge,” according to documents preserved by IOPscience.

According to NASA, the first recorded sighting of the “Blaze Star” occurred over 800 years ago. An abbot named Burchard of Ursberg, Germany, recorded in 1217 that he saw “a faint star which shone with a great light for some time.”

How to see the nova T Coronae Borealis explosion in 2024

According to EarthSky, the constellation T Coronae Borealis can be found in the constellation Corona Borealis, which can be found fairly easily by looking for the two brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere.

Look for the Big Dipper and follow its handle to the star Arcturus. Then find Vega, which is part of the Summer Triangle. Drawing a straight line from Arcturus and Vega will find the constellation Hercules and the Boreal Corona, a horseshoe-shaped arc of stars.

Experts say Blaze Star should appear just below Corona Borealis.

Need help finding stars, planets, and constellations? Try these free astronomy apps

The following free astronomy apps will help you locate stars, planets, and constellations.

How long will the new one last?

According to Hounsell, the nova should last about a week, reaching its brightest in the first few days before beginning to fade.

How often do stars become new?

There are only five known stars in the entire galaxy that have novae, NASA writes, but scientists think the Milky Way experiences about 30 to 60 novae per year. These distant stars, however, are so distant that you can’t see them with the naked eye because their light is obscured by gas and dust.

What happens if T Coronae Borealis does not develop into a nova in September, or at all?

That would be interesting, Hounsell says.

“We know from historical records that it should happen about every 80 years, but that’s unpredictable science,” she said. “If a nova doesn’t go off when we expect it to, that could mean that something else happened that could tell us more information, which is really cool. We’ll learn new things. That’s what science is.”

How to say “Uranus”: No kidding, but you’ve been saying the name of that gas planet wrong your entire life.

John Tufts covers news trends for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at JTuftsReports.

Website https://www.oneroofptbo.ca

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