2024-03-25 20:01:58
Par Martin Leduc
Published on 25 Mar 24 at 9:01 p.m. updated on 25 Mar 24 at 9:28 p.m. See my news Follow News
Space is exceptional in that something can happen 2630 light years away from us, but we will still be able to see it from below.
For a week, a new light point will appear in the sky. And it is a star that we already know. Details.
A “symbiotic binary star”
We are talking about T Corona Borealisa system (or binary star) which evolves in the Corona Borealis, described as “binary” because two stars orbit around the same point: a white dwarf and a red giant. The system is also symbiotic, and that is why it interests us today.
“Symbiotic” means, to put it simply, that its brightness varies during its existence.
Basically, the two bodies “can exchange matter. One of the two swells so much that it comes into contact with the other. A reaction then occurs, and the system presents a start,” explains, withactu.frThierry Midavaine, president of the Commission for techniques in amateur astronomy within the Astronomical Society of France (SAF).
And a burst is a temporary, but potentially quite strong, increase in brightness. In the case of T Coronae Borealis, “we speak incorrectly of Nova”, notes Thierry Midavaine.
Visible for a week, but we don’t know when
Over the course of a week, the luminosity of the system will increase drastically, until it reaches magnitude 2, the same as theNorth Starbefore decreasing for more or less three weeks.
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The phenomenon had already been observed in 1866 and in 1946, i.e. twice in 160 years. And it’s been more or less 80 years since that happened. But for now, scientists do not know whether this will happen again in eight decades.
It is also unclear when exactly this will take place. We are only sure that this burst will appear before September 2024. Moreover, amateur astronomers are invited to report any observations directly to the Société astronomique de France by following this link.
How to see it?
To be sure of finding it, you must already be in a clear environment. “It will be visible in a beautiful countryside sky, but in Paris, it will be more complicated,” admits the president of the Commission for amateur astronomy techniques at the SAF.
To find it, you must first spot the constellation Ursa Major, to the north. It is easily detected: it houses the asterism of the cart, or the saucepan. This done, follow the tail of the Big Dipper and its three stars, and extend the arc of a circle. You will come across Arcturus, in the Bouvier constellation. Going up at a right angle between the Big Dipper and Arcturus, we come across the Corona Borealis.
If the explanation is not clear, let’s make it simpler: T Coronae Borealis is located, roughly, below the North Star.
As we say at NASAit is surely “The opportunity of a lifetime” to see this star. So look up!
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