March 27 may witness a rare astronomical event

NASA specialists are closely monitoring the constellation Corona Borealis, where an exciting astronomical phenomenon is expected - the explosion of the binary star system T Coronae Borealis, also known as Blaze Star. Located at a distance of 3000 light years from Earth, this system is a tandem of a white dwarf and an ancient red giant star, which approximately once every 79 years create a cosmic firework.

Researcher Jean Schneider from the Paris Observatory conducted a detailed analysis of historical data on the outbursts of this system. In his work, published in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, the scientist identified a pattern: explosions occur every 128 orbital cycles of the system. With an orbital period of 227 days, this indicates a probable date for the next explosion - March 27. If the forecast doesn't come true, Schneider suggests alternative dates: November 10, 2025, or June 25, 2026.

The mechanism of this cosmic spectacle is truly impressive. The red giant, exceeding the Sun's mass by 1.12 times, gradually loses hydrogen under the influence of the powerful gravitational pull of the white dwarf. The material forms an accretion disk around the dwarf, and when pressure and temperature on its surface reach critical values, a thermonuclear explosion occurs. Unlike catastrophic supernovae, the white dwarf is preserved, ejecting a significant amount of matter into space.

The most amazing thing is that this rare phenomenon can be observed without special equipment. Usually, the system has a brightness of +10 and is invisible to the naked eye, but during the outburst, it will reach a magnitude of +2, comparable to the North Star. The cosmic performance will last about a week, after which the star will dim again and won't show itself for about another 80 years.

This rare astronomical event provides scientists with a unique opportunity to study thermonuclear processes in stellar systems and verify the accuracy of orbital models based on centuries of observations.