‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ nova to shine over Kansas next month

TOPEKA ( KSNT ) – A new light will appear in the night sky next month above Kansas thanks to an exploding star thousands of light years away from Earth.

NASA Solar System Ambassador Brenda Culbertson told 27 News people may see a curious new light in the night sky during the month of September. The light will come from a star, nicknamed the “ Blaze Star ” or T CrB, situated about 3,000 light years away from Earth in the Corona Borealis or “Northern Crown,” according to NASA.

This star is due become a nova, not to be confused with a supernova, which will create a large explosion in space which will be visible to the naked eye. The Blaze Star actually consists of two stars: a small white dwarf and an old red giant which is having its hydrogen stripped away by its close neighbor.

“The hydrogen from the red giant accretes on the surface of the white dwarf, causing a buildup of pressure and heat,” Culbertson said, citing a NASA description for the event. “Eventually, it triggers a thermonuclear explosion big enough to blast away that accreted material. For T CrB, that event appears to reoccur, on average, every 80 years.”

Given this event occurs on average around every 80 years, it makes it a rarely seen event that people may experience only once or twice in their lives. Culbertson said the exact timing of the event isn’t known, but scientists expect the light to be visible sometime in September 2024.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of new astronomers out there, giving young people a cosmic event they can observe for themselves, ask their own questions, and collect their own data,” said Dr. Rebekah Hounsell, an assistant research scientist specializing in nova events at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’ll fuel the next generation of scientists.”

People won’t need any specialized equipment to view this nova. However, a telescope can be used to enhance one’s view of it.

“This nova should be easily visible without any magnification,” Culbertson said. “People should be able to go out, look up at the constellation Corona Borealis, and see it. It will appear as a bright star where no star was visible before, but it will be very bright for around a week when it happens.”

Culbertson encourages people who want to see the nova to see out a dark place away from large light sources and look for the constellation Corona Borealis. You can find this constellation by looking for an arc of stars between the bright stars Arcturus and Vega. The corona will appear closer to Arcturus.

While amateur and professional stargazers may seek out this event and get a lot of enjoyment out of it, Culbertson said many others will probably not even notice it happening overhead. People shouldn’t expect to see a sudden explosion in space. Instead, a new light will appear before vanishing from sight for another 80 years.

“Most will not even notice it, unless they are specifically looking for it,” Culbertson said. “No specific time for the nova to happen is known, but the history of its previous times shows the periods of recurrence and duration.”

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