T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) is about to reappear in the spring night sky, so be ready in case it goes nova.
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T Coronae Borealis (T CrB), popularly known as the "Blaze Star," is surely on the verge of a rare and dramatic brightening.
T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) is about to reappear in the spring night sky, so be ready in case it goes nova.(Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab)
This recurrent nova, located approximately 3,000
light-years away in the constellation Corona Borealis, was predicted to explode in a thermonuclear eruption between April and September 2024. For sky-watchers, the failure of the star to suddenly become visible to the naked eye during winter — for the first time since 1946 — is good news because, since September, it's not been visible until the very early hours.
That's changing as its host constellation, Corona Borealis, begins to rise after dark. With a recurrent nova explosion, a very rare event, it's worth finding its patch of sky now in the night sky so you know where to look — and are more easily impressed — when it briefly becomes visible.
So, while it may necessitate staying up late, it's an excellent opportunity for skywatchers to witness the sudden brightening of T CrB — if it happens — before the star fades back into obscurity for another 80 years. With each passing month, it will rise two hours earlier, so it will very soon be an easy nighttime object.
T CrB will be positioned between two of the
brightest stars in the night sky: Vega, rising in the northeast, and Arcturus, rising in the east.
If you can't immediately find those two stars, finding the "Blaze Star" is most easily done by first locating the
Big Dipper/Plough, one of the most recognizable patterns in the night sky. Follow the arc of its handle to
Arcturus, the fourth brightest star in the sky, shining with an orange hue in the Boötes constellation above the east. Next, locate Vega, a brilliant blue-white star in the Lyra constellation, above north-east
