Astronomers believe the T Coronae Borealis star system may become visible before September 2024 due to a nova explosion that occurs once every 80 years.
If you missed out on the annular eclipse and the total eclipse in the past 12 months, there's about to be another once-in-a-lifetime sky-watching event -- and this one should last several days.
T Coronae Borealis, one of the fainter stars included in the constellation Corona Borealis, is expected to go nova any day now, which will temporarily transform it from a nearly invisible star to one of the night sky's brightest.
"This very rare, naked-eye-visible recurring nova only happens every 78 years, so this is our big chance," Paul McFarlane, director of Reno's Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center, told the RGJ.
"The star will go from 10th magnitude to about 2nd magnitude -- from very invisible to our eyes to as bright as the North Star," McFarlane said. "So, while it won't be the brightest star in the sky, it will be plenty bright enough to see. But you'll only notice that it's appeared if you know that tiara-shaped constellation. It will have an extra jewel!"
How to spot T Coronae Borealis, aka 'Blaze Star'
The Corona Borealis is a C-shaped "crown" constellation between the constellations Hercules and Boötes. To the naked eye, it's made up of seven stars, but an eighth star will come into view when the cosmic event begins.
"When it happens, it only flares up for a couple days, so we'll want to make certain we'll know where and how to find it," McFarlane said.
As of late September, Corona Borealis rises in the Northern Nevada sky shortly before 10 p.m., arcs across the sky to the south and sets shortly after midnight.
Sky watchers can find the constellation by starting at the Big Dipper, then following the curved path of its handle to Arcturus, one of the brightest stars visible from the Northern Hemisphere.
"Use the handle of the Big Dipper to 'arc' to Arcturus, the bright star in the bottom of an ice-cream cone-shaped constellation called Boötes," McFarlane explained. "Then find the C-shaped constellation of Corona Borealis -- seven stars.
"Familiarize yourself with this constellation so that when the 'new' star appears on one side of it, you'll know the change -- kind of like a game of 'spot the difference.'"
Brief but regular appearances for 'Blaze Star'
Renoites caught a glimpse of T Coronae Borealis in 1946, the last time the white dwarf star siphoned off energy from its larger regular star, exploding in a blaze of brilliance. Prior to that, the star was last visible from Earth in 1866, two years before Reno's founding.
The word "nova" comes from the Latin word meaning "new." In astronomical terms, it can seem like there's a new star in the heavens even though that star might be very old and at the end stages of its life.
During a nova event, explains NASA, energy explodes from a white dwarf star.
"NASA and astronomers around the world have tracked this unique recurring nebula throughout its cycles, giving us a good sense of its regularity," McFarlane said.
Need help finding stars, planets and constellations? Try these free astronomy apps
The following free astronomy apps can help you locate stars, planets and constellations.