Some day in the middle of next September, a huge star explosion is going to happen 3 thousand light years away from Earth. The night sky will be lit up by this explosion. And amateur astronomers will get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness such strange phenomena in space.
The Corona Borealis constellation or ‘Northern Crown’ binary star system in space is usually very faint or small to the naked eye. But every 80 years or so there is a displacement between the two stars in this constellation. At that time they got involved in a big conflict. A special kind of nuclear explosion takes place.
According to the US space research agency NASA, the light emitted by the explosion will be visible as a new star. As bright as the Aurora Borealis, it appears to have suddenly appeared in our night sky for a few days.
Mankind will witness such events at least three times. The first such phenomenon was discovered in 1866 by Irish polymath John Birmingham. Then the same incident happened again in 1946.
Astronomer Sumer Starfield of Arizona State University has given this phenomenon an appropriate name. He told the news agency AFP that he is very excited to see this ‘explosion’ of Nova (New Astrology).
Since the 1960s, the astronomer has worked sporadically on the constellation T Corona Borealis, known as the ‘Blaze Star’. Starfield is finishing up a research paper that speculates on what information astronomers will find out from the two star explosions, which are expected to occur within the next five months.
He said, ‘There are only about 10 “recurring novae” in our known galaxy, the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. Typical nova explosions occur every one hundred thousand years. But because of the strange relationship between the two stars, recurrent nova explosions can happen more than once in a person’s lifetime.’
The nova was studied by German astronomer Joachim Krauter. This retired German scientist said that the scene of the explosion of T Corona Borealis will be watched by many people like the James Webb Space Telescope.
The astronomer said, ‘When that rare event happens, you don’t need the help of modern technology like a telescope to see it. Just go out of the house and look at the Corona Borealis, and you will see the incredible sight.’
Meanwhile, some lucky sky watchers are preparing to witness the biggest cosmic event of the year on Monday. A rare total solar eclipse will occur across much of the United States that day.
Source: BBC
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