2024-07-08 12:42:45
After three thousand years of traveling through the galaxy, light from a stellar explosion will soon become visible in Earth’s night sky. Astronomers are calling it a once-in-a-lifetime event.
The Independent writes about this.
The star, known as the Blazing Star, has not been seen since 1946 and was first observed 800 years ago. Astronomers say it will appear as an extremely bright star that will be visible to the naked eye for days or weeks.
Scientists explain that the brightness is caused by a periodic thermonuclear explosion in a binary star system consisting of a red giant and an Earth-sized white dwarf. The white dwarf’s gravity pulls in hydrogen from the red giant, causing pressure and heat to build up until a powerful explosion occurs.
“This event is unique and will inspire many to explore space, giving young people the opportunity to observe and ask questions while collecting their data. Recurring supernovae with short cycles are rare, and almost never so close to our solar system. It is exciting to witness such an event,” said Dr. Rebecca Hounsell, a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Astronomers predict that this phenomenon will be visible for about a week in the constellation Hercules. The best way to find the flash is to use special astronomical applications on your smartphone or tablet.
According to NASA scientists, this rare celestial event could inspire a new generation of astronomers and scientists. It will also provide a unique opportunity to study the structure and dynamics of stellar explosions.
“Usually supernovae are so distant and dim that it is difficult to determine where the energy is coming from. But this supernova will be close enough that many people will be watching it, studying different wavelengths, and hopefully that will give us valuable information about its structure and processes,” Hounsell said.
Earlier, “Kursor” wrote that future plans for space exploration include ambitious projects, which are fast manned missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as robotic expeditions to remote parts of the Solar System. In the long term, exploration of nearby stars is not ruled out, which opens up new opportunities for humanity to study and explore space.