New Delhi: In the coming months, an upcoming cosmic event will let you see a star system 3,000 light years away from the Earth. The rare cosmic eruption will be so bright it will appear as a temporary new star in the night sky.

According to NASA, the event will take place in a system called the ‘T Coronae Borealis’ and will be visible to those living in the Northern Hemisphere of our planet.The faraway star system features a dead star, often referred as a ‘white dwarf’ that is closely orbited by a red giant – stars that are running out of hydrogen in their cores. NASA estimates suggests the Sun still has millions of years to go before it turns into a red dwarf.

In T Coronae Borealis, the red giant is so close to the white dwarf that the former is continuously spilling matter on the surface of the white dwarf. This causes the pressure and heat to increase in the white dwarf, eventually causing an eruption.

While the star system is too far to be seen with the naked eye, it will be visible via binoculars once the eruption reaches its peak and visible as a new star in the night sky for about a week before it fades into darkness for almost a century. If you are wondering where to look, the new star will be visible some near Corona Borealis, a small semicircular arc near the Bootes and Hercules constellation.

The star system last erupted in 1946, with astronomers estimating that another explosion will take place sometime between February and September this year. NASA this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a nova outburst, which usually takes place once every 80 years.

Agencies

Agencies