It is a phenomenon that happens every eight decades and allows the naked eye to see the explosion of a star in the Northern Hemisphere. TCoronae Borealis (T CrB) will shine brighter than the North Star and give the sensation that there is a new star in the sky, but this effect will only last for a week and, therefore, this will be a unique opportunity to observe a star that is 3 thousand light years away.
This event is expected to take place in 2024, with T CrB illuminating the Corona Borealis constellation for around seven days. NASA scientists cannot determine exactly when the explosion will happen, but they believe it could be between the next few days and September. In any case, they are monitoring the star daily so as not to miss the start of this rare astronomical event.
The Corona Borealis system is composed of a white dwarf star comparable in size to the Sun and a red giant star that is near the end of its life and has expanded to a size 74 times the size of the Sun. The white dwarf orbits around the red giant in a proximity that greatly increases the red giant’s surface temperature to about 2200 to 3200 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, T CrB expels its outer layers in explosions with 100,000 times more energy than the Sun’s annual energy production and which are visible from Earth for a week. After the release of energy, T CrB cools down and restarts a new cycle that lasts around 80 years.
According to NASA, for a week it will be possible to observe the brightness of this star with the naked eye, and the following week there may still be traces of the explosion observed using a telescope. For this reason, this will be a phenomenon that promises to capture the attention of all enthusiasts and those curious about the celestial system and its rarest events.
The last T CrB explosion occurred in 1946, with records of observations in 1866, 1787 and even in 1217.
