Nova explosion of nearby star will soon light up Earth's skies

Multimedia

22-06-2024, 17:00

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INA - SOURCES

T Coronae Borealis, affectionately known as T CrB, is no ordinary star. It’s a binary system, a celestial pattern of two stars locked in a gravitational embrace.

At the heart of this cosmic process lies a white dwarf, the incredibly dense remnant of a once-mighty star. Its partner, a bloated red giant, is in the twilight years of its existence, slowly shedding its outer layers under the relentless pull of the white dwarf’s gravity.

This ongoing stellar cannibalism sets the stage for an explosive event known as a nova.

When enough material accumulates on the white dwarf’s surface, the temperature and pressure become so high that nuclear fusion ignites explosively.

This rapid fusion causes the white dwarf to brighten dramatically, often becoming thousands of times more luminous than before.

The nova explosion blows away the accreted material from the white dwarf’s surface, creating an expanding shell of gas and dust.

When T CrB erupts, its luminosity will increase dramatically, making it visible to the naked eye for several days.