A Nearby Star Is Expected to Go Nova This Year. Here's How You Can See It.
A nearby exploding star is due to offer a spectacular show that could outshine our North Star this year.
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Humans have seen this nova lots of times before. It was first identified by astronomers in the late 1800s, and it bursts about every 80 years.
Indeed, the explosion heading our way would have taken place thousands of years ago, but requires all that time for the light to reach us.
Still, it's worth checking it out – T Coronae Borealis last shone in 1946 and this will be the last viewing opportunity before the early 2100s.
Very cool.
That is, until the article says to check out Twitter for how to actually see it.
Right. I avoid Twitter at every opportunity. I want nothing to do with that cease pit.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_Coronae_Borealis
On 20 April 2016, the Sky and Telescope website reported a sustained brightening since February 2015 from magnitude 10.5 to about 9.2. A similar event was reported in 1938, followed by another outburst in 1946.[20] By June 2018, the star had dimmed slightly but still remained at an unusually high level of activity. In March or April 2023, it dimmed to magnitude 12.3.[21] A similar dimming occurred in the year before the 1945 outburst, indicating that it will likely erupt between March and September 2024.
And if I'm interpreting some of the other content correctly, it'll come and go in one night? Maybe someone who knows more about these can confirm or correct me.. See update below.
Also ..
Even when at peak magnitude of 2.5, this recurrent nova is dimmer than about 120 stars in the night sky.
So, maybe a bit anticlimactic. 😞
Update: .. https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2024/02/27/view-nova-explosion-new-star-in-northern-crown/
Once its brightness peaks, it should be visible to the unaided eye for several days and just over a week with binoculars before it dims again, possibly for another 80 years.
So no range of dates then? Still pretty damned cool.
Between March and September, but that's a pretty wide range. I guess just keep an eye out for the, "IT'S HAPPENING" posts.
Reminds me of when Betelgeuse, the orange upper star of Orion, went dim in 2020. Lots of amateur reports on its brightness, 3x per night, for a few months waiting for it to go nova. It settled down a bit before disappearing behind the sun for the season and came back just fine. It was kinda fun to monitor, but soooo many false alarms from people trying to call it first
Definitely will keep an eye out. Already have the eclipse in the calendar too.