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What's the Story
For the first time in 80 years, a rare astronomical event is going to happen in our galaxy.
The T Coronae Borealis star system is likely to undergo a nova, an event that occurs when a small star suddenly brightens dramatically for a brief period of time.
“To see that star explode is even rarer than a solar eclipse,” said NASA astronomer Bill Cooke. npr“So this is a once in a lifetime thing.”
Understanding T Coronae Borealis
T Coronae Borealis, located about 3,000 light-years from Earth, is a double star system consisting of a white dwarf and a red giant.
As the red giant heats up and the pressure increases, it will begin to spew out the material accreted by the white dwarf.
A smaller Earth-sized star would become so filled with material that it would explode.
“Eventually it accumulates so much material that a thermonuclear reaction begins, and the star becomes hundreds of times brighter,” Cooke said.
Nova events: a rare astronomical phenomenon
The word nova is derived from the Latin word for “new star,” because the phenomenon causes a once dim celestial body to suddenly become bright.
Dr. Rebecca Hounsell, assistant research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said such explosions usually occur repeatedly on the same star.
“There are a small number of recurring novae that have very short cycles, but we don't see such an explosion again very often in a human lifetime, and it's very rare to see one so close to our own system,” he said.
The brightness of T Coronae Borealis will rival that of the North Star
When a nova occurs, the star system may increase from magnitude +10 to +2, which is the same brightness level as the North Star.
Astronomers say that when the nova reaches its peak brightness, it will be visible to onlookers for several days.
People using telescopes will be able to see it for more than a week.
The last outbreak of T Coronae Borealis was recorded in 1946, but historical records date back to 1217.
NASA telescopes will observe impending nova
Astrophysicists plan to closely observe the impending nova with the hope of better understanding these recurring events.
NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope will be used to collect data on the explosion.
“Typically, nova events are so faint and distant that it is hard to clearly identify where the erupted energy is concentrated,” said Elizabeth Hess, head of NASA Goddard's Astroparticle Physics Laboratory.