It is 3,000 light years from Earth. Corona Borealis is home to a white dwarf star called T CrB. It is on the brink of a spectacular and exceptional nova explosion. It will happen before September 2024. The cosmic explosion that will be visible to the naked eye is the next big astronomical event.
“This is like Halley’s Comet,” says William J Cooke, NASA program manager. NASA experts do not usually know when nova explosions will occur. But there are certain types of novae that are known as “recurrent novae.” It is known that there are about 10.
Visible in the sky
White dwarfs have masses similar to that of the Sun, but a diameter about a hundred times smaller. This makes them comparable in size to Earth. “When it explodes, a thermonuclear reaction literally occurs, like in a bomb.” This type of explosion helps NASA experts understand binary systems and the thermonuclear explosions that occur when the white dwarf goes nova.
When the next T CrB nova erupts, visibility will increase significantly. The cosmic explosion that will be visible to the naked eye from Earth will have a brightness level similar to that of the North Star. To see the spectacle of the nova, you must look in the sky for the constellation Corona Borealis, or the Northern Crown. “This is where the burst will appear as a ‘new’ bright star,” explains the space agency.
But it is important to clarify so as not to get confused that what will be happening will not actually be the formation of a new star. It is only becoming visible to us thanks to these distant nuclear reactions. «It is a star that already exists. The star has always been there. But to us it seems that suddenly there is a new star because we can’t always see it,” they explain.
One week explosion
«White dwarfs are so small that we cannot see them with the naked eye. But due to the fusion reaction that is occurring, it will be visible temporarily. It could even be as bright as the planet Mars, they add. It is expected to remain burning and visible to the naked eye for at least a few days. But its explosion could last more than a week.
And once the white dwarf gets rid of all the material it has accumulated from the larger red star, T CrB will dim again. And it will be hidden from our eyes for decades.
