An event that happens once every 80 years in the sky, can it be seen with the naked eye?

A huge explosion between two stars will occur between now and September . This is a rare astronomical event, and only happens about once every 80 years.

The double star system in the constellation Corona Borealis is often overlooked by astronomy enthusiasts, because it is difficult to see them in the night sky with the naked eye.

An artist's depiction of the interaction between two stars in the constellation Corona Borealis. (Photo: Science Alert).

But a rare event is about to happen, making these two stars the center of discussion. Specifically, the exchange between these two stars is about to cause a huge explosion.

According to NASA, the light from the explosion will travel through space, and make it look as if a new star has appeared in the sky, with the same brightness as the North Star, and can be seen with the naked eye.

According to scientists, this event only happens about once every 80 years, and this will be the third time people have witnessed this event. Previously, the event was discovered in 1866 and 1946 by Irish polymath John Birmingham.

Sumner Starrfield, an astronomer at Arizona State University, believes that new stars, also known as novae, usually explode every 100,000 years.

However, the special structure of the T. Coronae Borealis binary star system allows them to start a thermonuclear reaction after only about 80 years. The explosion will only last a few short seconds, with temperatures possibly rising to 100-200 million degrees Celsius.

Besides the total solar eclipse taking place in North America on April 8, this can be considered one of the most notable astronomical events of 2024.