Scientists are still on high alert for a supernova which is now overdue as October continues. The once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon will reportedly be visible with the naked eye any day, with most predictions saying if you look west at 8pm tonight, October 7, you could spot the star everyone is keeping an eye on according to The Guardian.
T Coronae Borealis, nicknamed the Blaze Star, is a rarity in the night sky made of two stars in the Northern Crown Constellation; a red giant and a white dwarf with a dense core roughly the same size as Earth. The relationship between the two sees the constellation go nova approximately every 80 years, and scientists initially expected the next explosion to have occurred around April this year.
When it does eventually blow, T Coronae Borealis is expected to be as bright as Alphecca, the brightest star in its entire constellation. Unfortunately, it won’t be easily visible from the southern hemisphere.
The gravity of the white dwarf steadily siphons gas from the red giant, which then accumulates under its surface and builds up until it detonates in a thermonuclear explosion. This causes it to temporarily brighten but does not destroy the white dwarf. After this explosive release, the cycle starts again when the white dwarf returns to normal.
There is some debate as to when the next explosion should take place, ranging between January 2024 and September 2026. One prediction made in 1946 suggested it would only reach nova level in 2027.