What on earth does T Coronae Borealis play on? We were on guard for it to explode since Aprilwhen we confidently expected it to grow some time before September. But we are still waiting.
The star is a repeating nova. This means it actually consists of two stars: a red giant and a white dwarf. The white dwarf is a dense star core about the size of the Earth, whose gravity pulls gas away from the red giant. The gas collects on the white dwarf’s surface before exploding in a thermonuclear explosion, causing the star to temporarily brighten. This does not destroy the white dwarf, which then returns to normal and repeats the cycle.
Historically, T Coronae Borealis blows its stack and reaches naked-eye brightness once every 80 years or so, and it should blow any day now. The chart shows the view looking west from London at 20.00 BST on 7 October.
When T Coronae Borealis finally puts on its show, it is expected to reach the same brightness as Alphecca, the brightest star in its constellation. Unfortunately, as the Latin name suggests, it is not easily visible from the southern hemisphere.
