Once-in-a-lifetime ‘Blaze Star’ to burst into view ‘any day now’ – where to find new light in the sky
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STARGAZERS may be able to catch the birth of a new star if they keep their eyes to the sky over the next few weeks. T Coronae Borealis, dubbed the "blaze star", is expected to burst into life any day now. It will be as bright as the supergiant North Star, also known as Polaris, according to scientists.
![[Novae - or Nova - is the strong, rapid increase in the brightness of a star that scientists believe has been recently born]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/000-light-years-away-remnant-960761931.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
But it won't be around for long. Light from the "blaze star" will pierce through deep space, becoming visible to the naked eye for only a couple of days before it disappears for another 80 years. "There are a few recurrent novae with very short cycles, but typically, we don't often see a repeated outburst in a human lifetime, and rarely one so relatively close to our own system," said Dr Rebekah Hounsell, an assistant research scientists at Nasa.
Novae - or Nova - are the strong, rapid increase in the brightness of a star that scientists believe has been recently born. T Coronae Borealis won't grace skies until 2105, making it a real "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity, added Dr Hounsell. Unfortunately, astronomers have been unable to pinpoint exactly when the new star will be visible.
![[Arcturus, part of constellation Boötes, is the fourth brightest star in the sky, and the brightest in the northern hemisphere]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GM_05-19_STARS-PLOUGH-ARCTURUS-1-1.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
However, Lord Martin Rees, the current Astronomer Royal and former president of the Royal Society and a fellow of Trinity College at Cambridge University, told The Telegraph that it could be any day now. It may even be "slightly overdue", he said. The "blaze star" will assume position in a faint constellation called the Northern Crown, or Corona Borealis.
![[The Sirius Star]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NINTCHDBPICT000960760572_858279.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
