Astronomers await the rare ‘Blaze Star’ this summer
- The 'recurrent nova' will be visible for about one week this summer
- It’s actually two stars: a white dwarf and a red giant
- ‘A once-in-a-lifetime event, says NASA
T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) recurrent nova system, illustration. This binary system consists of a white dwarf star and a red giant star. The strong gravitational force of the white dwarf pulls gas from the red giant onto its surface, heating it. When the white dwarf’s surface reaches over 10 million degrees Celsius a thermonuclear explosion is triggered. T CrB is in the constellation Corona Borealis, approximately 3,000 light-years from Earth
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(NewsNation) — Don’t blink, or you might miss a bright new star in the sky. It’s been there for eons but is only visible every so often. Like every 80 years.
“The Blaze Star” will become visible to the naked eye for the first time since 1946 sometime between now and September, but only for about one week.
Known officially as T Coronae Borealis, the Blaze Star is actually two stars – a binary system as it’s known – about 3,000 light years from Earth. And its increased brightness is called a “recurrent nova.”
“The system is comprised of a white dwarf – an Earth-sized remnant of a dead star with a mass comparable to that of our Sun – and an ancient red giant slowly being stripped of hydrogen by the relentless gravitational pull of its hungry neighbor,” is how NASA explains it.
“The hydrogen from the red giant accretes on the surface of the white dwarf, causing a buildup of pressure and heat. Eventually, it triggers a thermonuclear explosion big enough to blast away that accreted material. For T CrB, that event appears to reoccur, on average, every 80 years.”
The Blaze Star is located in the constellation known as the “Northern Crown” which is between the constellations Hercules and Bootes. In other words, look for some of the brightest stars in the summer night sky. And the experts say it’s worth the effort.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of new astronomers out there, giving young people a cosmic event they can observe for themselves, ask their own questions, and collect their own data,” said Dr. Rebekah Hounsell of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
“It’ll fuel the next generation of scientists,” she added.