Starting Friday, June 21, sky watchers and star lovers in general should stay tuned, because on any winter night (summer in the northern hemisphere), A faint star will explode and suddenly shine in the night sky. In fact, a new and recurring star is T Coronae Borealis (T CrB).
Today, AT CrB, which has a magnitude of +10, meaning that it is too large to be seen with the naked eye, according to NASA, will shine in the same way as the Polar Star, also known as the North Star, which has a magnitude of +2. Remembering that in astronomy, the smaller the size of the star, the brighter it is. For example, the magnitude of the Sun is approximately -26.74.
While the new magnitude makes T Coronae Borealis the 48th brightest star in the night sky, it is its rarity that will make this event fascinating for all astronomers and stargazers: The last time T CrB shined like this was 80 years ago!
T Why does Corona Borealis shine from time to time?
Les aurores boréales does not lag behind the rare seoul phenomenon according to the observer in 2024: l’étoile duo « T Coronae Borealis » effectively turned into a brilliant light show, in which the year 2024 and participate until September. Phénomène une nova.… pic.twitter.com/tIZwUYXlLR
— Xplora (@XploraSpace) May 15, 2024
The event we are about to witness, the sudden brightness of a star, is called “nova”, which means “new star” in Latin. In the case of T Coronae Borealis, it is a new repeater that shines in cycles of 80 years or less and returns to its normal brightness. It is important not to confuse this phenomenon with supernovae. This happens during the death of a star. See the differences below.
Nova or supernova?
Although both refer to stellar explosions, novae and supernovae are completely different events, both in terms of origin, intensity and subsequent consequences. AT CrB is a nova, which means a sudden bright star whose brightness increases by 100 to 10 thousand times. ANDThere are only five repeating novae in our galaxy.
This phenomenon occurs because T Coronae Borealis is a binary star system in which a white dwarf is absorbing matter from its dying red giant counterpart. When the pressure and temperature increase greatly, The accumulated hydrogen undergoes explosive nuclear fusion, causing a temporary increase in the white dwarf’s brightness.. But the system remains intact.
What about supernovae?
In the case of a supernova, the explosion is more violent and definitive because it marks the end of a star’s life. They are also much brighter, shining brighter than the entire galaxy for a short time. Additionally, supernovae are dangerous and can be fatal if they occur near a planet..
Therefore, scientists constantly speculate about the possible risks of supernova explosions to life on Earth. In one of them, published recently in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the authors claim that a supernova is nearby. Can produce a gamma ray burst that can magnify cosmic rays up to 100 times over several centuries.
Fortunately, the study concludes: “Overall, the biosphere will continue to function despite a 100-fold increase in UV radiation. “Our atmosphere and magnetosphere can handle this,” he said.
How can I watch the “new star” shine in the sky?
With the current size, T Coronae Borealis would be difficult to identify in Brazil. This is because the constellation Corona Borealis is best observed in the Northern Hemisphere. However, it will be possible to observe it here in July, near the northern horizon.
However, we can take advantage of the live broadcast of the Virtual Telescope Project, which will show the “encounter” of T Coronae Borealis with the asteroid Pallas on Monday 24th. The broadcast will start at 17.00 (Brasília time) and you can subscribe to the virtual telescope channel on YouTube.
Who wants observe the star directly, after it explodes you can enable push notifications in astronomy appsReceive notifications as soon as Star Walk 2 or Sky Tonight and T Coronae Borealis eruption is confirmed.
And do not despair if you cannot observe the exact moment of the event; because the recurring nova will be visible to the naked eye through binoculars or a small telescope for more than a week. This show is worth your time because it will only happen again in the 22nd century.
Did you like the content? So stay up to date with more incredible astronomical events like this on TecMundo! And don’t forget to watch, NASA videos show the 20-year history of two supernovae in just 20 seconds.
Source: Tec Mundo
I’m Blaine Morgan, an experienced journalist and writer with over 8 years of experience in the tech industry. My expertise lies in writing about technology news and trends, covering everything from cutting-edge gadgets to emerging software developments. I’ve written for several leading publications including Gadget Onus where I am an author.