You will soon have a chance to see an exploding star: ‘Once-in-a-lifetime thing,’ NASA says

The Great North American Eclipse has passed but skywatchers will soon have the opportunity to see something NASA experts are describing as a “once-in-a-lifetime” event.

A star system located 3,000 light-years away from Earth is predicted to soon become visible to the naked eye due to a nova outburst, an occurrence that only takes place about every 80 years. The “blaze star,” officially known as T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, last exploded in 1946 and astronomers believe it will do it again sometime between February and September 2024.

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Bill Cooke, lead for NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, said the timing of the explosion is much harder to predict than the eclipse but said when it happens it will be “something you’ll remember.”

“Seeing that star blow up is much rarer than a solar eclipse,” Cooke told NPR. “So, it’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

The star system is typically far too dim to see with the unaided eye but will jump to the brightness of Polaris, the North Star, during the event. When that occurs, it will be visible for several days and even longer if you use binoculars.

The outburst will take place near the constellation Corona Borealis, or the Northern Crown, a small, semicircular arc bear Bootes and Hercules, NASA said. This is where the outburst will appear as “new” bright star.

According to NASA, the recurring nova is one of only five in our galaxy.