‘Zombie star’ on Halloween: NASA reveals cosmic horror will awaken after 80 years
A 'zombie star' known as T Coronae Borealis is set to be visible after 80 years.
On the eerie night of Halloween, space experts unveiled a chilling revelation: a 'zombie star' is poised to rise from the dead. T Coronae Borealis, also known as the Blaze Star, is expected to explode violently soon. As if summoned by the spirits of the night, this illuminating binary star system will awaken for the first time in 80 years. Prepare for the cosmic horror as this ancient stellar remnant returns.
The ‘dead’ Blaze star
The Blaze star is currently identified as a White Swarf, a term used when a star runs out of its nuclear fuels. NASA astrophysicist Padi Boyd told ABC News, “It’s basically a dead star. It’s not burning anything." According to NASA, the dead star’s mass is comparable to Earth’s Sun. However, the astrophysicist explained that in contrast, Earth’s sun is constantly working to burn elements such as hydrogen and helium.
Padi continued that a Blaze part is part of a binary system and has a companion star known as a red star through which it “gobbles” material. NASA added that the strong gravitational helps in the transfer of important elements such as hydrogen.
Boyde described the white dwarf “like a vampire” as it sucks the material out of the companion star. Material accumulates on the surface of a white dwarf star until the pressure and heat become sufficient to trigger a thermonuclear runaway explosion. This process occurs when enough matter builds up leading to a catastrophic release of energy that transforms the star dramatically. Thus the star turns from “dead” to “very, very bright” explained Boyd.
The phenomenon occurs every eight decades when the Blaze star system burns so bright that it becomes visible to the naked eye. Boyd told the news outlet, "It’ll become as bright as some of the stars we see on the constellations at night.” The last one spotted from Earth, according to NASA, was in 1946.
Boyd explained that the prediction of when a nova, the process of a star burning extremely bright, will occur is extremely difficult. She added, “This explosion, it could happen tonight; it could happen a year from now or six months or a couple of weeks. We know it's coming soon."
How to identify the phenomenon?
The Northern Crown, or Corona Borealis, is a horseshoe-shaped group of stars located west of the Hercules constellation. In the Northern Hemisphere, one can find it by first locating the two brightest stars, Arcturus and Vega. By drawing a straight line between these stars, one will be guided to the Hercules constellation and then to the distinct curve of the Northern Crown. The outburst, however, is expected to be short and quick. According to NASA, the nova will be visible to the naked eye for less than a week.
Boyd explained that it will appear as a new star in the sky for astronomy enthusiasts. She said, “It’ll look like the jewel in the crown of the corona.” The star has piqued scientists’ interest as they are curious to learn the aftermath of the star once the material is blasted and distributed into the fellow galaxies. The material consists of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and neon. Boyd added, “This is where that material in our own solar system -- in our planet, in the oceans, in our bones, in our blood -- those materials come from stellar explosions.”
Rebekah Hounsell, an assistant research scientist specializing in nova events at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center described it as a “once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of new astronomers out there, giving young people a cosmic event they can observe for themselves, ask their own questions, and collect their own data.”