- What NASA scientists think we'll see when the Blaze Star explodes
- Best places to stargaze and see the nova from the North State
Shasta County residents could opt to travel 60 mph for the next 28 billion years to see a once in a lifetime event: A star exploding.
Or they could just look up from their backyards.
What will appear to be a new star in the sky will actually be a nova — a super-bright star explosion — and is likely to be visible with the naked eye for the first time since 1946.
Known as the Blaze Star, T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) will likely blow up by the end of September, according to NASA.
What will look like one star is actually two stars orbiting each other in a stellar cosmic dance.
Gravity from an Earth-size white dwarf ― the remains of a dead star with a mass similar to Earth’s sun ― is pulling hydrogen off of its neighbor, an ancient red giant. But soon, the red giant will move behind the white dwarf and cause a massive explosion, a phenomenon visible without a telescope from Earth for the first time in 80 years, NASA reported.
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"Typically, nova events are so faint and far away that it’s hard to clearly identify where the erupting energy is concentrated,” Dr. Elizabeth Hays, chief of theAstroparticle Physics Laboratory at NASA'sGoddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement. “This one will be really close, with a lot of eyes on it. We can’t wait to get the full picture of what’s going on.”
If, as scientists predict, the new bright point is visible in out night sky, here’s how to get a good look at it.
When the nova will likely happen and its light appear in the sky
The stars are behaving similarly to the way they did in the time leading up to the last explosion, so it will happen within the next few months.
"If the pattern continues, some researchers say, the nova event could occur by September 2024," NASA reported.
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Why there will be a nova
The giant and dwarf stars have a bit of an explosive relationship with each other.
They make up a binary system, when “two stars orbit around a common center of mass,” bound together by gravity, according to a statement issued by the Australia Telescope National Facility.
Because they’re so close, they interact violently with one another and that lack of space triggers a thermonuclear explosion, creating the nova, according to NASA. The red giant’s hydrogen, pulled to the surface of the white dwarf, is building up, causing extreme pressure and heat. Eventually it goes ‘kaboom.’
How to find the nova when it happens
The two starts are circling each other 3,000 light years away from Earth in the Northern Crown constellation, according to NASA.
When the nova happens, we'll have a little less than a week to see it before it fades from view, according to nova specialist Rebekah Hounsell at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
You can start looking now to locate where the Blaze Star will appear.
- Look up just after sunset during August and September.
- Find the two brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere: Arcturus and Vega.
- Track a straight line from one to the other, a line that crosses Hercules and the Corona Borealis. The Corona Borealis is to the right of Hercules and is almost equidistant between Vega and Arcturus.
- Look near the second star on the crown of the Corona Borealis to find where the Blaze Star should be.
You can also use a sky map or download a free app like SkyView or Star Walk to find the constellation Hercules and the Northern Crown as it rises.
Cool places to stargaze
While the nova will likely be visible after dark, views may be washed out in cities like Redding because of they have too much light pollution. Boost your odds of seeing the nova by looking through binoculars or a telescope.
Here are some good places to stargaze in the North State, according to astronomy clubs and astrophotographers. Stay off private property unless you have permission to be there, and check park hours before you go.
Shasta County
- Lake Shastanorth of Redding is a popular spot to stargaze.
- Try the Jones Valley boat ramp(Pit River arm of Shasta Lake)
- Whiskeytown National Recreation Area near Redding and safe pull-offs alongHighway 299 going west from the park.
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Lassen County
Once it opens again after being closed due to the Park Fire, some of the best unobstructed stargazing spots in the North State are in LassenVolcanicNational Park:
- Shores around Lake Helen and Bumpass Hell parking lot.
- North side of the park on the Manzanita Lake shoreline, Butte Lake, the Chaos Jumbles pullout and the Devastated Area
- Safe pull-offs along Highway 89 in the park
Avoid areas closed off due to damage from the 2021 Dixie Fire. For closures, go to nps.gov/lavo.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories.Followher on Twitter@RS_JSkropanicand onFacebook. Join Jessica in theGet Out! Nor Calrecreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work,please subscribe today. Thank you.
