ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester may have missed out on the total solar eclipse in April 2024 due to clouds, but it has another chance to see a once in a lifetime astronomical event called the “Blaze Star”.
Its full name is T Coronae Borealis, and it is a very dim star found in the constellation Corona Borealis (Latin for “Northern Crown”). It is so dim in fact, that it is invisible to the naked eye even on a clear night with no light pollution. But this is no normal star.
It’s actually a binary star system – meaning it is comprised of two stars rotating around each other. One of these stars, a red giant, is over 60 times the size of our sun, and the other is a white dwarf, which, although being only 0.45% the size of our sun, has 35% more mass. This means the white dwarf is extremely dense and extremely hot, and it has so much gravity that it actually sucks in material from the red giant, like a stellar parasite.
As the white dwarf sucks in material from the red giant, it builds an accretion disc. And then, after 80 years, it brilliantly releases all of that material in a nova. This is not to be confused with a supernova, in which the star’s life comes to a permanent end.
Once it novas, the white dwarf will emit so much light that it becomes visible in our night sky – as bright as the North Star – for about a week, then dim once more for another 80 long years as it begins the process all over again.
The last time the Blaze Star appeared was 1946, and scientists say it could reappear literally any day from now through next year. When it does, you will only be able to see it for 5-7 days. Over the next few months, the time and place to look for it in the night sky will change. But if it occurs in the next month, here’s how to find it:
Once night falls, find the Big Dipper. It’ll be low on the horizon to the northwest. Then, follow the handle west until you see an ice cream cone shaped constellation called Bootes. Look to the top left of Bootes, and you’ll see a C shaped constellation – that’s Corona Borealis.
And when the Blaze Star returns, it’ll be just to the left of that. It may just look like another star in the night sky, but it is a star you will likely never see again in your lifetime. Remember to make a wish!
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