(NewsNation) — Astronomers believe we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a star system explode this year. It will be visible to the naked eye, but it could take some searching for those on Earth without a telescope.
“The Blaze Star,” officially known as T Coronae Borealis, is actually two stars about 3,000 light years from Earth. It is comprised of an ancient red giant star slowly stripped of hydrogen from a white dwarf.
Once enough hydrogen from the red giant star is on the white dwarf, there is a buildup of pressure and heat that triggers a thermonuclear explosion. Called a “nova,” this only happens every 80 years or so, according to NASA.
Such a rare occurrence will give young people a cosmic event they can observe for themselves, says Dr. Rebekah Hounsell, an assistant research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, allowing budding scientists to ask their own questions and collect their own data.
“It’ll fuel the next generation of scientists,” Hounsell said in a statement.
Estimates on exactly when we’ll see the explosion happen vary, the Los Angeles Times writes, but astrophysicists say it will likely be before the end of the year and even as soon as August.
How can I see the exploding star system?
The Blaze Star’s explosion will make it look like there is a new star in the sky for days, The Weather Channel says.
LiveScience writes that to find it, one must first locate the stars of the Big Dipper, which is high in the Northern Hemisphere. Then, amateur astrologists should trace the stars in the Big Dipper’s handle as it curves to Arcturus, which LiveScience describes as a “bright, reddish star above the eastern horizon.”
“Now look between Arcturus and Vega (slightly closer to Arcturus) for a faint curl of seven stars — Corona Borealis,” LiveScience says. “It will be high overhead after dark.”
For updates on when the star will be nova, people can follow NASA Universe on X and websites like Stellarium. The Astronomer’s Telegram is sending out email notices as well.
