A star will explode in 2024, visible to the naked eye
In the middle of the constellation Hercules, an object that looks like a completely new star will suddenly appear in the sky .
According to Science Alert, the upcoming nova explosion of T Coronae Borealis - a pair of two stars consisting of a "vampire" and its victim - will be so bright that Earthlings will be able to see it with the naked eye.
T Coronae Borealis exploded in 1946. According to calculations by scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, they will have to explode again between February and September 2024.
T Coronae Borealis, consisting of a "vampire" white dwarf and a red giant star - (Graphic image: NASA).
It hasn't exploded yet so you can expect this rare event from now until the end of September.
To the naked eye, you'll see a bright spot that looks like a new star rising in the constellation of Vulpix - where the pair resides - with a brightness equal to that of the North Star.
T Coronae Borealis is a star system that has come close to death . It currently consists of a red giant star and a white dwarf.
The white dwarf acts as a "vampire " star , while the red giant is its victim.
The white dwarf constantly exerts a force that tears material away from the red giant. When enough pressure builds up, the red giant periodically explodes in an event called a "nova explosion" , releasing some of the material from its body.
The torn-apart material will then be "eaten" by the white dwarf.
It takes some time from the time the material is released until the white dwarf has consumed its meal, so you can observe this nova explosion for several days.
There may come a day when the red giant star loses so much material that its companion literally bursts into flames. The pair will explode even more violently in an event called a 'supernova.'
Red giants are stars that are in their dying stages when they have run out of fuel. Our Sun will become a red giant in 5 billion years.
After a series of small nova explosions and possibly a supernova, all that remains will collapse into a tiny white dwarf, about the size of Earth but with superpowers.
It is estimated that after about 10 billion years, or about 5 billion years as a red giant, the Sun will turn into a white dwarf.
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