The explosion of a star that occurred about 3,000 light years from Earth will be visible from our planet with the naked eye this summer.
This rare celestial event will occur this summer before September, according to NASA.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that will create many new astronauts around the world,” says the assistant research scientist specializing in novas at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Virginia. Maryland, United States.
Located in the Corona Borealis, a small constellation in the northern hemisphere, the binary star T Coronae Borealis, which was no longer observable from Earth since 1946, can once again be seen with the naked eye.
In this solar system, a white dwarf, a star that has burned all of its fusion fuel, siphons hydrogen from a red giant star.
Hydrogen builds up on the surface of the white dwarf, causing pressure and heat to rise until a thermonuclear explosion is triggered.
This occurs approximately every 80 years.
A similar event occurred in 1946.
Astronomy enthusiasts will therefore be able to observe it over the coming months between the constellation of Hercules and that of Bouvier.
NASA does not specify, however, when exactly the star will be visible again.
