Posted on 09/17/2023 6:16:34 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
In 1217, a German monk looked to the starry southwest sky and noticed a normally faint star shining with unusual intensity. It continued to blaze for several days. Abbott Burchard, the leader of Ursberg Abbey at the time, recorded the sight in that year's chronicle...
This medieval manuscript may have been the first record of a rare space phenomenon called a recurrent nova ā a dead star siphoning matter from a larger companion, triggering repeated flares of light at regular intervals. According to new research, the "wonderful" star in question may be T CrB, which sits in the constellation Corona Borealis and dramatically increases in brightness for about a week every 80 years. But it has been scientifically documented only twice ā once in 1866, and again in 1946. (The star's next long-awaited flare-up is expected in 2024).
In a preprint paper, available on arXiv.org, astronomer Bradley E. Schaefer of Louisiana State University argues that Burchard's record and another chronicle from 1787 constitute the first known sightings of the T CrB nova...
Considering nobody has observed supernova remnants in the Corona Borealis star formation, it is unlikely that this kind of massive stellar explosion was the culprit. Similarly, Schaefer eliminated a bright planet from the list of suspects, as no planets visible to the naked eye wander through that region of the sky...
The 1787 sighting was recorded by English reverend and astronomer Francis Wollaston. This account describes nova-like behavior from a star whose coordinates match T CrB's position in the sky almost exactly. While Wollaston identified this star using a name from famed astronomer William Herschel's catalog, Schaefer believes its true identity is T CrB...
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Urania's Mirror - Hercules and Corona Borealis -- The star T CrB flares up every 80 years. A document from 1217 could help confirm its regularity. A 1217 account of a mysterious light in the constellation Corona Borealis may have described a recurrent nova.Image credit: Library of Congress/Wikimedia
Interesting. T CrB sounds like a rapper’s name.
Give ‘em time.
I did not see it in the article, Just how bright will this nova be?
Nova and November both hypothetically trace back to
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/n%C3%A9wos
And a corona is a crown.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Remember, remember, the 5th of November...
It was a red-letter date in the history of science. Time travel invented.
I hope to be looking for it. Been waiting for a few years for this to happen.
Just have to find a dark sky to set up under.
Good idea, may be a good time to get a Celestron or Meade.
"Thanks for all that you do." Diddos to SunkenCiv.
"Welcome to Earth!" [punch!]
I think it’ll be a surprise...
I just hope he doesn’t drop that big club from his hand, looks pretty big, probably take a while to arrive, but would do some damage.
Stupid hippies!
I may have to finally try cigars...
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