T Coronae Borealis: What causes a nova explosion?

In February of this year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published a statement warning that, Between that month and September, there is the possibility of a nova explosion occurring in a star system located 3 thousand light years from Earth.

This is T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB. It is located in the constellation Corona Borealis, which was discovered in 1866. The last time this system exploded was in 1946so if the pattern remains stable, Estimates indicate that humanity will see this astronomical event again in almost 80 years.

According to the Space website, a nova is a white dwarf in a binary star system that, by extracting matter from its companion, produces a nuclear fusion explosion that does not trigger the destruction of the starand which can therefore lead to further explosions.

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The explosion of the star “gives us very beautiful images of how the expulsion of all the materials that made it up go into space and form a cloud”adds Mario Arreola Santander, communications and electronics engineer, director of Science and Technology Dissemination of the Mexican Space Agency (AEM).

Observers in the northern hemisphere will have the best view of the eventsince T Coronae Borealis is located in the constellation of the Corona Borealis, a small semicircular arc between the constellations Bootes and Hercules. During the explosion, the nova will be easily located by following the star Alphecca, the brightest in the Corona Borealis.

For those interested in attending this event, It is recommended to familiarize yourself with the Corona Borealis constellation and use astronomy applications, such as Star Walk 2 or Sky Tonight to locate the star. Once NASA confirms the explosion, changes in brightness in T Coronae Borealis will be observable, first with the naked eye and then with binoculars as the nova begins to dim.