According to experts, the explosion will occur between now and September of this year. “There's an extra star in the night sky that you suddenly see,” astronomer Nashanti Broncken from Leiden University explains to Editie NL.
Double star
T Coronae Borealis isn't called a “double star” for nothing. “It's about two stars orbiting each other,” Bronken says. “One is a white dwarf: a dead star made up of detritus. The other is a red giant, which is also at the end of its life cycle. The red giant is blowing off its outer layers and swallowing the material that comes out of it.” “White dwarf. “This causes the white dwarf to become very hot and eventually explode.”
Once in your life
Astronomer Sylvia Toonen from the Pannekwik Institute of Astronomy also expressed her admiration for this phenomenon. “This explosion is so bright that you can see it with the naked eye. No telescope is needed to do this,” Tonin says. The explosion of this double star only occurs once every eighty years. “The previous eruptions occurred in 1866 and 1946, so you can only experience this once in your life.”
Look a little closer to the sky this period, and who knows, you might see the unique explosion of T Coronae Borealis. If you're having trouble finding the right star, there are also various apps that help you identify all the stars, according to astronomer Broncken.
