Missouri – NASA astronomers predict that individuals will be able to witness a “new star” appear in the night sky sometime between now and September.
Individuals can expect to see an explosion of bright white light in the sky. This light will be a star exploding close to the Earth. The explosion will be in the Milky Way’s Corona Borealis, also known as the Northern Crown constellation, between the Bootes and Hercules constellations. The event occurring is known as a nova and is a once-in-a-lifetime event. While a supernova is the explosive death of a massive star, a nova refers to the sudden, brief explosion of a collapsed star known as a white dwarf. The star will remain intact after the explosion. The white dwarf star exploding is due to its close orbit to a red giant star. The close orbit is causing the white dwarf to heat up and eventually explode.
This event happens about every 80 years, but this will be one of the very few people will be able to see with the naked eye. The last Nova experienced was in 1946 and was too dim to be seen without a telescope. Once the Nova peaks its brightness it will appear as if the night sky has a new star. NASA does not yet know the exact time of this explosion.
