July 11th 2024.
If you happen to be gazing up at the night sky in Australia, you might just be lucky enough to witness a spectacular celestial event that only occurs once in a lifetime. A pair of stars, known as T Coronae Borealis, is set to explode, illuminating the southern hemisphere with a brilliant display of light for the first time in 80 years.
T Coronae Borealis, also known as the Blaze Star, is a unique phenomenon that periodically undergoes a nova, where it experiences a burst of brightness as it partially explodes. This event can be predicted based on the star's brightness over time, meaning that it could happen anytime in the next few months to two years, according to astrophysicist Dr Sara Webb from Melbourne.
If you want to catch a glimpse of this rare event, keep an eye on the constellation Corona Borealis, where T Coronae Borealis is located. This constellation is visible in Australia between May and September in the evening sky. Normally, the Blaze Star is only visible using a telescope due to its distance of 3000 light years. However, during its explosion, it rapidly increases in brightness to around a magnitude +3, making it easily visible even in areas with light pollution.
It's like a brand new star suddenly appearing in the night sky, only to fade away a few nights later. Dr Rebekah Hounsell, an assistant research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre, believes that this event will spark a newfound interest in astronomy for many people. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will inspire a new generation of scientists," she said.
T Coronae Borealis is a white dwarf, which is essentially a dead star that has been dramatically compressed. It is about the size of Earth and has a mass comparable to our sun. However, it is in orbit with a red giant, from which it extracts hydrogen. This hydrogen builds up until a runaway thermonuclear reaction occurs, resulting in a massive explosion that causes the white dwarf to shine 1500 times brighter than usual.
According to Hounsell, while there are a few recurrent novae with short cycles, it is rare to see repeated outbursts in a human lifetime, especially one that is relatively close to our own solar system. "It's incredibly exciting to have a front-row seat to this event," she said. So keep your eyes to the sky and don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a stunning stellar event.
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