Stargazers may soon get a rare, celestial treat.
A star system 3,000 lightyears away is ready to go nova β and when it blows, it will be visible from Earth.
T Coronae Borealis, a.k.a. Blaze Star, only explodes once every 80 years, appearing as a new star in the night sky for around a week.
The hydrogen from the red giant builds up around its partner, accumulating pressure and heat like air in a balloon β only when this balloon pops, it creates a thermonuclear explosion that can be seen across the galaxy.
Out in space, the Blaze Star will shine thousands of times its original brightness, but to Earthlings it will appear as a new star in the sky about as bright as the North Star, known as Polaris.
βItβs a once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of new astronomers out there,β said NASA astronomer Dr. Rebekah Hounsell. βItβs incredibly exciting to have this front-row seat.β
