A once-in-a-lifetime star explosion to happen over SC skies soon. Here’s when, how to see it
South Carolinians may soon have the chance to view a spectacular stellar event that happens once a generation.
According to NASA, the T Coronae Borealis, nicknamed the Blaze Star, lies 3,000 light years away from Earth and is a recurring nova with outbursts every 80 years. It’s last outburst was in 1946. The next explosion is expected to occur from now through September.
“The star system, normally magnitude +10, which is far too dim to see with the unaided eye, will jump to magnitude +2 during the event,” NASA states. “This will be of similar brightness to the North Star, Polaris.”
How to view the nova in SC
The cosmic event will be visible for anyone in the Northern Hemisphere and should be fairly easy to see in the dark, away from bright city lights. The explosion should be visible to the unaided eye for several days and just over a week with binoculars before it dims again.
Keep an eye out online for reports that the explosion has occurred. If it’s night time, go outside and look toward the Northern Hemisphere’s summer sky. T Coronae Borealis will be found in the constellation Corona Borealis, a distinct horseshoe-shaped pattern of stars that sits between the Hercules and Boötes constellations. To find it, draw a straight line between Arcturus and Vega — the two brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere — and then look between them to see the arc-shaped Corona Borealis. You can then pinpoint the reddish-colored Arcturus by following the handle of the Big Dipper constellation.
You can also use an interactive star chart such as Stellarium to locate the constellation. There are plenty of constellation apps on smartphones that could also help you find it.
What is the constellation Corona Borealis?
This recurring nova is only one of five in our Milky Way galaxy, NASA states. It keeps happening because T Coronae Borealis is actually a binary system with a white dwarf and a red giant star.
“The stars are close enough that as the red giant becomes unstable from its increasing temperature and pressure and begins ejecting its outer layers, the white dwarf collects that matter onto its surface,” NASA states. “The shallow dense atmosphere of the white dwarf eventually heats enough to cause a runaway thermonuclear reaction – which produces the nova we see from Earth.”
