Welcome to our new post! In this article, I will explain in detail how you can see the nova explosion in the sky. Additionally, get ready to learn amazing things about nova events and impress your friends with these interesting facts.
This will be a unique event that will allow people to witness a cosmic event with their own eyes without the need for advanced telescopes. However, if you have a telescope, you will be able to appreciate the event in more detail.
T Coronae Borealis, also popularly known as Blaze Star (Burning Star in Spanish) and referred to as TCrB by scientists, is a binary system of two stars located in the constellation of Corona Borealis. This constellation is 3000 light-years from Earth.
This system is composed of two stars. One of them is a white dwarf of a size similar to Earth, but with a mass comparable to the Sun. The other star is a red giant that is slowly losing its hydrogen due to the gravitational pull of its neighbor.
The hydrogen that the white dwarf attracts to its surface gradually increases its heat and pressure, which in turn triggers a thermonuclear explosion capable of ejecting this material from its surface in a blinding flash. This event occurs in this system recurrently approximately every 80 years.
If nova explosions are recurrent and this is a normal event, what is so special about this explosion? The reason this explosion is generating so much excitement is because it is relatively close to Earth, making it possible to see this event in our sky with the naked eye. Normally, explosions cannot be witnessed because of the distance they are from our planet.
But if this event is recurrent and can be seen from Earth, has it been witnessed before? Yes, the first sighting of a nova explosion in T Coronae Borealis was reported by a German named Burchard, who in 1217 described it as a faint star that began to shine with great intensity. That was more than 800 years ago!
How can the nova explosion of T CrB be visible in the sky?
According to scientists' analysis, this nova explosion will be visible in September 2024. And how can you see it? The constellation Corona Borealis, where the T Coronae Borealis system is located, is west of the constellation Hercules and has a horseshoe shape.
If you look towards the northern hemisphere, you will find two very bright stars called Arcturus and Vega. By drawing a line connecting these two stars, the direction of the line will indicate the location of Hercules and Corona Borealis.
It is estimated that this event will be visible in our sky for just under a week. So, you don't need to worry about blinking at the exact second it explodes. Both astronomers and space enthusiasts eagerly await the opportunity to witness and document this event.
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is already positioned, observing T Coronae Borealis and awaiting the star's explosion. Several telescopes are also monitoring this system to collect data from both the visible and invisible light spectrum.
The technology of gamma-ray telescopes did not exist in 1946, when the last explosion of the star occurred. Additionally, they also have the polarization capability of IXPE, which identifies the alignment and organization of electromagnetic waves. This also allows for determining the internal processes in high-energy phenomena and structures.
The analysis of this data will contribute to a greater understanding of powerful stellar processes and binary systems.
Why does this event emit gamma rays?
The burst of the explosion contains multiple waves that expand into the universe at different speeds. The ones traveling at higher speeds interact with those moving at lower speeds, accelerating them to the speed of light, which can produce gamma rays.
Although it is a recurrent event, the time between one explosion and another is so long, and it can only be seen if the star is relatively close to Earth. It is very likely that you will only witness a nova explosion once in your life.
What is the difference between a supernova and a nova?
You might be a little confused after hearing that the explosion repeats over and over again. This can happen due to a misunderstanding between the concepts of nova and supernova. Nova events always repeat and are common during the life cycle of stars, whereas the supernova is the final explosion that causes the total destruction of the star.
Nova events can repeat over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years, are usually sudden and of short duration.
Did you know that a supernova is such a large explosion that it is considered the most intense known explosion?
What does a star need to explode in a supernova? It needs to have a minimum mass equivalent to 5 times the mass of our Sun and be at the end of its life cycle.
The gravity of the stars compacts their mass towards the center to turn it into the smallest and densest ball possible. During the supernova, the core heats up and generates an expansion force contrary to the star's gravity.
There is also another type of supernova in binary systems like T Coronae Borealis. In this second type, the white dwarf attracts matter from a nearby star or collides with it, causing the explosion. An interesting fact is that the study of supernovae has concluded that stars are the factories of the universe, generating the necessary chemical elements. For example, the core of stars is capable of converting hydrogen into heavier elements. Did you know that only massive stars are capable of producing uranium, silver, and gold?
And what happens to these materials when the star explodes? They are scattered throughout space.
Did you know that the brightness of a supernova can be so intense that it can eclipse entire galaxies for days or even months? Scientists estimate that the frequency of a supernova event is approximately two or three per century in the Milky Way.
Although scientists predict that the explosion will happen in September, it is important to emphasize that NASA reported that there is also a possibility that it may not explode. This is because it is currently not possible to predict exactly when a nova explosion will occur.
By analyzing the behavior of other stars, they have concluded that even if the behavior of the nova explosions of a specific star seems to be documented, there is no guarantee that this star will not present a pattern change and start to act unexpectedly.
📚 Data source:
https://www.dw.com/de/wie-man-die-novaexplosion-mit-blo%C3%9Fem-auge-sehen-kann/a-69422808
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_Coronae_Borealis
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-fermi-space-telescope-reveals-new-source-of-gamma-rays/
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/supernova/sp/
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/measuring-a-white-dwarf-star/
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/white-dwarf-stars/
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