People in the northern hemisphere might have a chance to see a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event this year.The T Coronae Borealis, also known as T CrB, is a recurrent nova that bursts about every 80 years. Astronomers are pointing to it bursting sometime soon, making it a once-in-a-lifetime event where people can view the nova visible to the naked eye at about the same brightness as the North Star.鈥淲e expect that will erupt any night now, any month now,鈥� said Bradley Schaefer, an astronomer and professor at Louisiana State University and a specialist on T Coronae Borealis. Ironically, one of the reasons that astronomers think this explosion is imminent is because the star system appears dimmer. Schaefer has studied the light curve, or brightness, of T Coronae Borealis, which showed a similar pattern to the last eruption in 1946 of dimming right before erupting.T Coronae Borealis will be seen the best from the northern hemisphere, where it currently rises at around 10 p.m.To find it, look for the Hercules constellation between the bright Vega and Arcturus stars. Next to Hercules is a crown-shaped constellation called Corona Borealis, also known as the 鈥淣orthern Crown.鈥� Just outside of that is where T CrB can be found when it erupts. Once it erupts, it will be visible for about five days, according to Bill Cooke, an astronomer for NASA. T Coronae Borealis, also called the 鈥淏laze Star,鈥� is a binary system made up of a red giant star and a white dwarf star. They orbit close together with hydrogen from the red giant star being taken by the white dwarf. When enough hydrogen builds up, it bursts in what is called a thermonuclear runaway.鈥淚t's literally a nuclear explosion on the surface of that white dwarf that will cause this huge increase in brightness, and that鈥檚 what creates a nova,鈥� Cooke said.It differs from a supernova, which is a larger explosion that marks the end of a star鈥檚 life. What鈥檚 unique about T Coronae Borealis nova is its recurrence.And when it erupts, it will be the brightest nova visible for many generations.鈥淗ow often do you see a star explode? And I don't care whether you're an astronomer or a person on the street, that's got to get your attention,鈥� said Cooke.The T Coronae Borealis eruption has been documented four times, according to research. The first was in 1217, and the other three most recent times occurred at an average of 79 years apart between the two.鈥淪o a person generally has only one chance to see T Coronae Borealis go nova. Just like they have one shot at Comet Halley,鈥� Cooke said.Some astronomers have made predictions, even down to the day it will erupt. Last year, Jean Schneider 鈥� an astronomer at the Paris Observatory whose expertise is on extrasolar planets 鈥� published an article in the American Astronomical Society predicting a few dates the nova could erupt.The predicted dates were calculated by dividing the days between eruptions by the number of days of the system鈥檚 orbit 鈥� around 228. Schneider was surprised after realizing the calculations were near whole numbers.Two of the predicted days, including Aug. 12, 2024, and March 27, 2025, have already passed, but Nov. 10, 2025, and June 25, 2026, still have not happened. The days also have an uncertainty of about plus or minus 10 days.Still, the consensus among astronomers is that the eruption is coming, but nobody knows exactly when it will happen. In the paper, Schneider emphasized the uncertainty of the predictions, highlighting uncertainty with the accretion rate of material from the red giant to the white dwarf.Schaefer, who has studied the light curves of the recurrent nova, also stressed the uncertainty of when it will erupt, explaining that the accuracy of the old data for the nova doesn鈥檛 allow for a predicted month.Because the nova's erupting date is uncertain, it鈥檚 constantly supervised around the world. That鈥檚 where a large community of amateur astronomers comes in. When T Coronae Borealis erupts, it will happen quickly and only be visible for less than a week. This has led to a collaborative worldwide effort of amateur astronomers keeping track of the system, according to Schaefer.It鈥檚 basically under continuous review, Schaefer said, with it being checked an average of every six minutes.鈥淚t's awesome. It's actually a rather hard thing to do,鈥� Schaefer said. 鈥淎nd so the people who are doing this are not the professional astronomers. No, it's the amateur astronomers of the world who are doing this.鈥漃HNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
People in the northern hemisphere might have a chance to see a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event this year.
The T Coronae Borealis, also known as T CrB, is a recurrent nova that bursts about every 80 years. Astronomers are pointing to it bursting sometime soon, making it a once-in-a-lifetime event where people can view the nova visible to the naked eye at about the same brightness as the North Star.
鈥淲e expect that [T Coronae Borealis] will erupt any night now, any month now,鈥� said Bradley Schaefer, an astronomer and professor at Louisiana State University and a specialist on T Coronae Borealis.
Ironically, one of the reasons that astronomers think this explosion is imminent is because the star system appears dimmer. Schaefer the light curve, or brightness, of T Coronae Borealis, which showed a similar pattern to the last eruption in 1946 of dimming right before erupting.
will be seen the best from the northern hemisphere, where it currently rises at around 10 p.m.
To find it, look for the Hercules constellation between the bright Vega and Arcturus stars. Next to Hercules is a crown-shaped constellation called Corona Borealis, also known as the 鈥淣orthern Crown.鈥� Just outside of that is where T CrB can be found when it erupts. Once it erupts, it will be visible for about five days, according to Bill Cooke, an astronomer for NASA.
T Coronae Borealis, also called the 鈥淏laze Star,鈥� is a binary system made up of a red giant star and a white dwarf star. They orbit close together with hydrogen from the red giant star being taken by the white dwarf.
When enough hydrogen builds up, it bursts in what is called a thermonuclear runaway.
鈥淚t's literally a nuclear explosion on the surface of that white dwarf that will cause this huge increase in brightness, and that鈥檚 what creates a nova,鈥� Cooke said.
It differs from a supernova, which is a larger explosion that marks the end of a star鈥檚 life. What鈥檚 unique about T Coronae Borealis nova is its recurrence.
And when it erupts, it will be the brightest nova visible for many generations.
鈥淗ow often do you see a star explode? And I don't care whether you're an astronomer or a person on the street, that's got to get your attention,鈥� said Cooke.
The T Coronae Borealis eruption has been documented four times, according to . The first was in 1217, and the other three most recent times occurred at an average of 79 years apart between the two.
鈥淪o a person generally has only one chance to see T Coronae Borealis go nova. Just like they have one shot at Comet Halley,鈥� Cooke said.
Some astronomers have made predictions, even down to the day it will erupt. Last year, Jean Schneider 鈥� an astronomer at the Paris Observatory whose expertise is on extrasolar planets 鈥� published an in the American Astronomical Society predicting a few dates the nova could erupt.
The predicted dates were calculated by dividing the days between eruptions by the number of days of the system鈥檚 orbit 鈥� around 228. Schneider was surprised after realizing the calculations were near whole numbers.
Two of the predicted days, including Aug. 12, 2024, and March 27, 2025, have already passed, but Nov. 10, 2025, and June 25, 2026, still have not happened. The days also have an uncertainty of about plus or minus 10 days.
Still, the consensus among astronomers is that the eruption is coming, but nobody knows exactly when it will happen. In the paper, Schneider emphasized the uncertainty of the predictions, highlighting uncertainty with the accretion rate of material from the red giant to the white dwarf.
Schaefer, who has studied the light curves of the recurrent nova, also stressed the uncertainty of when it will erupt, explaining that the accuracy of the old data for the nova doesn鈥檛 allow for a predicted month.
Because the nova's erupting date is uncertain, it鈥檚 constantly supervised around the world. That鈥檚 where a large community of amateur astronomers comes in.
When T Coronae Borealis erupts, it will happen quickly and only be visible for less than a week. This has led to a collaborative worldwide effort of amateur astronomers keeping track of the system, according to Schaefer.
It鈥檚 basically under continuous review, Schaefer said, with it being checked an average of every six minutes.
鈥淚t's awesome. It's actually a rather hard thing to do,鈥� Schaefer said. 鈥淎nd so the people who are doing this are not the professional astronomers. No, it's the amateur astronomers of the world who are doing this.鈥�
