In the coming months, up to September, an extraordinary celestial event is set to illuminate the night sky, a spectacle located 3,000 light-years away from our planet. This event will present a unique opportunity for stargazing enthusiasts to observe a rarity in space.
Within the constellation known as Corona Borealis, or the “northern crown,” lies a binary star system that is usually not visible without the aid of a telescope. However, due to a periodic nuclear reaction caused by the interaction between the two stars in this binary system, an explosion will occur. This explosion will cause a sudden increase in brightness, making it seem as though a new star has emerged in the night sky, comparable in luminosity to the North Star, as noted by NASA.
This phenomenon, set to occur for at least the third time since its initial discovery by John Birmingham, an Irish polymath, in 1866 and its subsequent observation in 1946, is eagerly anticipated by astronomers and the public alike. Sumner Starrfield, an astronomer at Arizona State University, has dedicated years of research to the “Blaze Star,” or T Coronae Borealis. With the expected event drawing near, Starrfield is in the process of finalizing a paper that aims to predict the findings from this upcoming nova outburst.
Despite the uncertainty of the exact timing of this event, Starrfield humorously hopes it won’t happen too soon, allowing for ample preparation and observation. This recurring nova is one of only about ten known within our Milky Way and its neighbouring galaxies. Starrfield explains that unlike typical novas, which may only explode once every 100,000 years, recurrent novas like T Coronae Borealis have outbursts that align with human lifespans. This is due to the unique interaction between a red giant and a white dwarf star within the system.
The red giant, a cooling star that has exhausted its hydrogen and expanded significantly, is in orbit with a white dwarf. The latter is a dense core remaining from a star after shedding its atmosphere. The significant size difference between the two results in a lengthy 227-day orbit of the white dwarf around the red giant. Matter from the red giant accumulates on the white dwarf until it reaches a critical mass, approximately equivalent to Earth’s, every 80 years or so. This accumulation triggers a thermonuclear reaction, leading to a massive explosion and a dramatic increase in temperature, explained by Joachim Krautter, a retired German astronomer.
The upcoming explosion of T Coronae Borealis will attract the attention of numerous telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope. However, as Krautter points out, witnessing this spectacle does not require sophisticated equipment; one simply needs to look towards the constellation of Corona Borealis. As the astronomy community and enthusiasts gear up for this monumental event, another celestial occurrence, a rare total solar eclipse, is also set to captivate audiences across a portion of the United States on Monday.
