Michigan Skies To Witness a Very Rare Nova Explosion This Summer

This year has already proven to be a unique year for solar events. April 8th there will be a total solar eclipse that will not be seen for another 28 years. Now, NASA is reporting that a nova explosion that occurs every 80 years will be visible sometime this summer, and you won't need any extra equipment to witness it.

Rare Nova Explosion

According to NASA, the T Coronae Borealis region of stars will see an additional star that is normally too dim to notice it will be very bright due to the burst happening but only for a limited time. NASA has a simulation of what causes his star to become visible for a brief time, but I will attempt to use my college astronomy class knowledge to explain what is happening.

Unlike our solar system which has only one star (the Sun), the T Coronae Borealis is a binary system with two stars: a red giant star, which is what a star becomes when it begins to die, and a white dwarf, which is what a red star becomes once it dies. The burst is when the white dwarf star, with its immense gravitational pull, begins consuming too much run-off energy from the red giant and releases an explosion. What we see in our sky is the light emitted from that explosion from over 3000 light-years away.
Read More: There's Only One Place To See The Total Solar Eclipse In Michigan

Where To Look

The "new star" will be visible in between the Hercules and Bootes constellations and is said to be just as bright as the North Star, so it will be hard to miss. Due to the explosion's unnatural nature, astronomers can only predict a range of when the star will be visible, which is anytime between now and September 2024.

This star is visible every 80 years, so this is potentially the only time you could ever witness it. The best way to see the stars is to go to areas away from cities or places with a prevalent amount of light. This will allow you to have a better view of the stars.