Posted on 06/19/2024 9:54:52 PM PDT by Libloather
A star is dead?
Keep your eyes on the skies, stargazers: NASA has predicted that the much-anticipated “once-in-a-life-time” star explosion — or nova — will be visible to the naked eye sometime this summer, per a recent press release.
“It’s incredibly exciting to have this front-row seat,” said Dr. Rebekah Hounsell, an assistant research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Dubbed T Coronae Borealis or the “Blaze Star,” the celestial event is located 3,000 light years away and is comprised of a white dwarf, an “Earth-sized” remnant of a dead star. The starburst’s mass, meanwhile, is similar to that of the Sun.
Also in the mix is an “ancient red giant slowly being stripped of hydrogen by the relentless gravitational pull of its hungry neighbor,” NASA described.
When enough hydrogen from the red giant accumulates on the surface of the white dwarf, it triggers a massive thermonuclear explosion that blasts the amassed material into space in a blinding flash. The intergalactic phenomenon is not to be confused with a supernova, a similarly cosmic combustion that destroys some dying stars — rather than keeping them intact like the nova — and is often billions of times brighter than a nova.
In the case of the Blaze Star, that event appears to reoccur, on average, every 80 years, and can repeat itself for hundreds of thousands of years.
This event is particularly significant given its relative proximity to Earth. “There are a few recurrent novae with very short cycles, but typically, we don’t often see a repeated outburst in a human lifetime, and rarely one so relatively close to our own system,” said Hounsell.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Last appearance was 1946. I do not recall the event.
17,600 trillion miles away.
It’s unfathomably amazing.
-PJ
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Pretty sure it will be overcast here at the time...
(it always is for any astronomical event)
Throw a SUPER NOVA PARTY and at a set time everyone must bend over and Ki$$ Y0UR AND A$$ Goodbye !!!
wish i still had my 8” Celestron...
It should be visible for weeks
In that case, it will be overcast for weeks!!!
“Fortunately, amateur astronomers can optimize their chances of glimpsing the fleeting light show by following several tips.
First, they should initially look toward the Northern Crown, a parabola-shaped constellation situated west of the Hercules constellation, Fox News reports.
They can then trace a straight line from the two brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere — Arcturus and Vega — which will lead them to the Hercules constellation and the Corona Borealis, where the Blaze of glory will be most visible. It will look like a new star has appeared in the sky.”
✅✅✅🤪
HEY ! HEY ! HEY THERE, this is a Family Website. Children could be here sometimes🧑🧑🧒🧒
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I use this site to help me find stuff and it works well.
With the info that you provided, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Thanks!
I love astronomy. That’ll be a great resource.
Also it’s not interstellar, it’s stellar.
STELLAR !!!
Maximum brightness will be mag 2, and that will only be for about half a day. If you are on the wrong side of earth, you’ll miss the brightest period. It might remain visible to the naked eye for a few days depending on how dark your skies are, but it won’t be anything visually impressive.
Depends how you look at it.
The star will become visible to the unaided eye for the first time in a lifetime. After possibly just a few days of visibility and increased brightness, for millions the star will once again go dark and not be visible again for the rest of their lifetimes.
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