Astronomers around world waiting for explosion of hydrogen bomb as large as Earth

Astronomers around world waiting for explosion of hydrogen bomb as large as Earth

A dying star system is expected to brighten dramatically, in a once-in-a-lifetime event that occurs once every 80 years. The appearance of the star is expected between now and September. The eruption is expected to be a hydrogen bomb as large as the Earth.

An artistic rendering of a Red Giant and a White Dwarf. (Image Credit: Bing Image Creator).

New Delhi: At a distance of about 3,000 lightyears, in the constellation of the Northern Crown, is a system called T Coronae Borealis or T CrB in short. T CrB consists of an ageing red giant star, that is in the final phases of its stellar life cycle. The red giant has a binary companion, a white dwarf which is the still burning core of a dead star. The white dwarf is vampirically feeding on the outer atmosphere of the red giant, with its gravity pulling away hydrogen.

The accumulated hydrogen causes a buildup of pressure and temperature, accreting on the surface of the white dwarf. About once every 80 years, a thermonuclear explosion is triggered, violently shedding the accumulated material. T CrB is a recurring nova, and has been dubbed the Blaze Star. The first time the Blaze Star was spotted was more than 800 years ago. Once the anticipated eruption takes place, the system should be visible to the naked eye for several days.

The Blaze Star Eruption in 1946

The last time that the Blaze Star flared up was in 1946, just after the end of World War II, with the explosion being compared to the atom bomb. The Montreal Gazette noted, “Invisible to the naked eye since 1866, the star T Coronae Borealis became visible again on Saturday when it was wracked by an atomic explosion, which according to scientists, is millions of times more powerful than the blasts which obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

Another American daily, the The Tuscaloosa News from Alabama reported, “An atomic explosion that occurred 1,000 years ago – and millions of times more powerful than the most devastating atom bomb, was discovered today in an outburst of a star in the Eastern sky. The explosion of the star known as T Coronae Borealis was observed at the Yerkes observatory here.”

Astronomers prepared for the appearance of the Blaze Star

For scientists, the Blaze Star provides a rare opportunity to understand the underlying physical processes and the dynamics of such eruptions. A number of ground and space based instruments are poised to study the event, including the James Webb Space Telescope, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, the Very Large Array, and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

Project scientist on Fermi, Elizabeth Hays says, “Typically, nova events are so faint and far away that it’s hard to clearly identify where the erupting energy is concentrated. This one will be really close, with a lot of eyes on it, studying the various wavelengths and hopefully giving us data to start unlocking the structure and specific processes involved. We can’t wait to get the full picture of what’s going on.”

How to watch the Blaze Star?

The Blaze Star will appear in the constellation of the Northern Crown, which is close to the easily identifiable Hercules constellation. A planisphere, or an app such as Starwalk can help identify the constellations. The Blaze Star will be visible to the naked eye, and will not require any specialised equipment for observations.

Astrophysicist David Wilson says, “It’s going to be about as bright as the north star, which isn’t the brightest star. There are about 120 stars brighter in the sky. The best thing to do if you want to see it is to get to know the patch of sky where T CrB is, which is in the northeast at about 9 o’clock at the moment. As the year goes on, it’s going to get easier to see. The constellation Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, will be high overhead in the summer. If you get to know this patch of sky, you’ll see when it changes.”