Once in a lifetime nova explosion in September 2024, everything you need to know about this phenomenon

Nova (Representative image - Canva)

According to the researchers, there is once in a lifetime phenomenon going to happen in September 2024. A nova is an explosion of a star that makes the space illuminated when one star collides with another star nearby in the same system.

Here on Earth, we will be able to witness this phenomenon happening when a fiery explosion of T Coronae Borealis or T CrB, also known as the “Blaze Star” takes place. In this explosion the involvement of two stars from which one is a white draft and a giant red star will be involved.

The “T CrB,” is located in the Northern Crown some 3,000 light-years away from Earth. This nova event happens in the time cycle of every 80 years due to the red giant star hydrogen coming together under the influence of gravity on the surface of the white dwarf star.

The first ever recorded explosion by the humans of this nova was in 1217 when a man named Buchard witnessed it happening in Ursberg, Germany. Said in his statement about the event observation “a faint star that for a time shone with great light.”

The last time the T CrB nova was observed on Earth was in 1946, this phenomenon happened in a similar pattern that made it easy for the researcher to predict the event in future.

Dr. Elizabeth Hays, chief of the Astroparticle Physics Laboratory at NASA Goddard said in her statement about this event “Citizen scientists and space enthusiasts are always looking for those strong, bright signals that identify nova events and other phenomena,” Hays further added. “Using social media and email, they’ll send out instant alerts, and the flag goes up. We’re counting on that global community interaction again with T CrB.”

For astrophysics researchers, this event promises a rare and invaluable opportunity to gain deeper insights into the structure and dynamics of recurring stellar explosions. Such phenomena are not frequently observed, making each instance a crucial moment for scientific study

“Typically, nova events are so faint and far away that it’s hard to identify where the erupting energy is concentrated, this one will be really close, with a lot of eyes on it, studying the various wavelengths and hopefully giving us data to start unlocking the structure and specific processes involved. We can’t wait to get the full picture of what’s going on.” hays said this in her statement.

A nova is different from a supernova, as a supernova involves the full destruction of the star but in nova, the dwarf star stays intact. Ans due to this reason the events repeat themselves after a certain amount of time.

By analyzing this nova explosion, researchers can enhance their understanding of the processes that drive these cosmic events, potentially unveiling new aspects of stellar life cycles, energy distribution, and the intricate mechanisms underlying explosive star activity.