This star explodes every 80 years, and in 2025, it will be visible to the naked eye.

The nova explosion on the star T Corona Borealis was expected to be one of the major astronomical events of last year, but it did not occur. It was anticipated that this explosion could be visible even to the naked eye. Now, new research indicates that something is indeed happening on the star, suggesting that a bright explosion may be imminent this year, reports ScienceAlert.

In the Milky Way, there are binary star systems consisting of a red giant star and a small, dense white dwarf. The latter form after stars similar to our Sun die. In such systems, the stars are very close to each other, and the white dwarf pulls material from the red giant. At some point, too much material accumulates on the surface of the white dwarf, leading to a thermonuclear explosion known as a nova. Some white dwarfs can experience these explosions periodically.

The white dwarf in the T Corona Borealis system, located about 2000 light-years away in the constellation Corona Borealis, experiences a nova approximately every 80 years. The last event was observed in 1946.

In 2024, astronomers anticipated that the nova explosion would occur between March and September, but now scientists believe it will happen between March and November this year. New studies show that the brightness of the star T Corona Borealis is changing, likely due to a high rate of material accumulation on its surface, which means a nova explosion may occur in the near future. However, accurately predicting this event is quite challenging.

There are only six white dwarfs in the Milky Way where recurrent nova explosions take place, and sometimes they can be seen with the naked eye.

If the star T Corona Borealis currently has an apparent magnitude of about +10, during a nova explosion it will reach an apparent magnitude of +2. Theoretically, this is bright enough to witness the event in the constellation Corona Borealis without the aid of a telescope or binoculars, near the border with the constellation Hercules.

At the same time, astronomers note that even if a nova explosion occurs, it will certainly not be the brightest star in the night sky, contrary to some claims found online.

According to scientists, when the nova explosion reaches its peak brightness, it will likely be visible to the naked eye for several days. After that, the star will return to its normal brightness, only to have another explosive event in about 80 years.