‘New’ star to be visible in once-in-a-lifetime event due to rare Nova explosion: NASA
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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — NASA announced that a new star system approximately 3,000 light-years away will be visible from the naked eye this year.
Astronomers believe that the “new star” will appear in the constellation, T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, which could be seen between now and September 2024. The last time this star exploded was in 1946.
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But sometime this year, it will jump to a magnitude of +2, making it nearly as bright as the North Star, and visible for a few days until it dims again. The next time it could be visible would be in 80 years.
NASA said this is one of five recurring nova in the Milky Way.
T CrB is a binary system with a white dwarf and red giant, meaning the stars act as partners and orbit around a common center of mass. As increasing temperatures and pressure make the red giant unstable, the white dwarf starts collecting its ejecting outer layers on its surface. NASA said the white dwarf then “heats enough to cause a runaway thermonuclear reaction,” making it visible to us on Earth.
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