Don't miss it: in the coming months, a nova eruption is expected to occur that will be visible to the naked eye

The T Corona Borealis system includes a white dwarf—an Earth-sized remnant of a star with a mass similar to that of our Sun—and an ancient red giant whose hydrogen has been sucked up by the gravity of its hungry neighbor. The hydrogen from the red giant accumulates on the surface of the white dwarf, causing a build-up of pressure and heat that results in an explosion. A nova, unlike a supernova, is a cyclical process and in this system the cycle is 80 years old

This summer, astronomers around the world are excitedly awaiting a nova event in the constellation Corona Borealis, which will be visible to the naked eye. The term nova itself indicates that a bright star suddenly appears in a place that was previously empty in the sky, meaning "new star".

This event, which occurs approximately every 80 years, promises to arouse interest among both professional astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts, providing significant observational data and perhaps inspiring future scientists.

This summer, professional astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts alike will be tracking a small constellation deep in the night sky. But it was not the stars of Corona Borealis, the "Northern Crown", that aroused such interest. It is a dark spot in between where an extremely bright nova outburst is expected to occur.

The Science of Nova Events

T Corona Borealis, known as the "Fire Star" and known to astronomers simply as "T CrB", is a binary system located in the Northern Corona group, about 3,000 light years from Earth. The system includes a white dwarf—an Earth-sized remnant of a star with a mass similar to that of our Sun—and an ancient red giant whose hydrogen has been sucked up by the gravity of its hungry neighbor.

The hydrogen from the red giant accumulates on the surface of the white dwarf, causing pressure and heat to build up. Eventually it will trigger a thermonuclear explosion large enough to detonate the accumulated material. For T CrB, this event repeats on average every 80 years.

Don't confuse a nova with a supernova. A supernova is a huge final explosion that wipes out several dying stars, while in a nova event, the dwarf star remains intact, sending the accreted material into space in a blinding explosion. This cycle repeats over time, a process that can last tens or hundreds of thousands of years. We are lucky that in this star system the event repeats itself in a span of only decades.

Historical observations and predictions

The first recorded observation of a T CrB nova was more than 800 years ago, in the fall of 1217. The T CrB nova was last seen from Earth in 1946. Its behavior over the past decade is strikingly similar to behavior observed at a similar time before the 1946 eruption. If the pattern continues, some researchers say, the event could occur by September 2024.

What should stargazers look for? The Northern Crown is a horseshoe-shaped arc of stars west of the Hercules group, which can be identified by finding the two brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere - Arcturus and Vega - and following a straight line from one to the other, which will lead stargazers to Hercules and the Northern Crown.

A natural phenomenon that will bring people closer to science

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime burst that will create many new astronomers, allow young people to observe a cosmic event for themselves, ask their questions and obtain their own data," said Dr. Rebecca Hounsal, a NASA researcher specializing in novae events. "It will inspire the next generation of scientists."

Dr. Elizabeth Hayes, head of NASA's Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, agrees. "Citizen scientists and space enthusiasts are always looking for the strong, clear signs that identify novae and other phenomena," Hayes said. "Through social media and email, they'll send instant alerts, and the flag will go up. We trust this global interaction again with T CrB.”

Hayes is the chief scientist of NASA's Fermi gamma-ray telescope, which has been operating since 2008. Fermi is ready to observe T CrB when the burst is discovered, along with other space missions including the James Webb Space Telescope, the Neill Gurls Swift Gamma-ray Telescope, IXPE (X-ray Polarization Research), NuSTAR (Nuclear X-ray Spectroscopy), NICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Research), and the European Space Agency's Integral mission. Many ground-based radio telescopes and optical cameras, including the National Radio Observatory's very large telescope array in New Mexico, will also participate. Various instruments and telescopes will record data across the visible and invisible spectrum.

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• Red Nova
• Impending explosion: Massive stars alert when they're about to go supernova
• 11 billion year old supernova
• Life and Death in the Universe Courtesy of Spitzer
• A white dwarf beats a red giant