What’s Going On With The ‘Blaze Star’ — The Star That Won’t Explode

What happened to the star that was supposed to have “gone nova” by now? Reported back in May and June as being imminent, the star in the constellation Corona Borealis remains dim and, as yet, refuses to live up to its name, the “Blaze Star.” With the prospect of a naked-eye comet, strong aurora displays and a “ring of fire” solar eclipse imminent, it’s dropped off the sky-watcher radar. What’s going on?

When T CrB Will Explode

It’s likely to happen soon, but there is no way of knowing for sure when. “Each passing day in September, the probability of the outburst increases,” said Edward Sion, Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Science at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, in an email.

T Coronae Borealis (also called T CrB) normally shines at a magnitude of +2, about the same as the “North Star,” Polaris. However, T CrB is a recurrent nova — a “repeating new star” — that will suddenly become visible to the naked eye for a week or two. Then, it will return to its regular dim level.

Why T CrB Will Explode

Every 80 years, T CrB spikes in brightness become visible to the naked eye. It’s actually two stars, a huge and cool red giant star and a small hot white dwarf star. The red giant constantly expels cool matter that gets sucked onto the white dwarf’s hot surface, which builds up until it causes a detonation — and a sudden spike in its brightness.

Previous Explosions

T CrB’s sudden brightness was noticed in 1866 and then in 1946 — 80 years apart — which may mean 2024 is two years early for its next spike. However, what happened in the run-up to the 1946 event has already occurred. Hence the earlier-than-expected prediction.

“With previous novae of T Coronae Borealis, there was a pre-outburst dip, and that dip in brightness has again been observed this time,” said Sion. “The recurrence time between its previous two nova explosions was 80 years, and September of 2024 will be 78 years since its last nova explosion.”

Slight Dimming Event

The slight dimming of T CrB was observed in 2023, leading astronomers to predict that T CrB will explode between April and September 2024. That period is coming to an end, but one fact remains. “It could explode at any time,” said Sion.

Let’s hope T CrB does “go nova” real soon because while Corona Borealis — a crescent of stars found between the constellations of Boötes and Hercules — is still in the northern hemisphere’s night sky, it won’t be for long.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.