‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ nova explosion will appear to add new star to night sky in dazzling spectacle: NASA

Scientists around the world are anxiously awaiting a cosmic nova event that will appear to add a “new star” to the night sky sometime between now and September, according to NASA.

The spectacle will be so bright that it will be visible to the naked eye.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of young astronomers out there, giving young people a cosmic event they can observe for themselves, ask their own questions and collect their own data,” said Dr . Rebekah. Hounsell, an assistant research scientist specializing in nova events at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“This will feed the next generation of scientists,” she added.

T Coronae Borealis – nicknamed “The Blazing Star” and known simply as “T CrB” to astronomers – is a small binary star system located in the northern corona of the Milky Way about 3,000 light-years from Earth, between the constellations Boötes and Hercules.

It consists of a white dwarf — a dead star only the size of Earth but with an incredible mass that matches that of our sun — that is slowly grabbing hydrogen from an ancient red giant, according to NASA.

About every 80 years, hydrogen from the red giant accumulates on the surface of the white dwarf and ultimately ignites a violent thermonuclear explosion that ejects the hydrogen back into space in a fantastic light show.

The light show will appear to viewers on Earth as if a new star appeared in the sky.

The last nova in T CrB was in 1946. The first sighting was recorded more than 800 years ago by an Abbott in Germany who observed “a faint star which for a time shone with great light,” according to NASA.

“There are some repeating novae with very short cycles, but typically, we don’t often see a repeating outburst in a human lifetime, and rarely one so relatively close to our system,” Hounsell said. “It’s incredibly exciting to have this front row seat.”

Hounsell said the nova event should not be confused with the more familiar “supernova,” when a massive star explodes dramatically at the end of its life, destroying itself. In a nova, the dwarf star remains intact but sends the accumulated material flying through space in a blinding flash.

For one short week, stargazers can see the explosion with their naked eyes, which she’s confident will wow viewers around the globe.

At its peak, it will seem as if a new star has emerged.

While it’s possible the nova could occur after September, the binary system has recently been exhibiting similar behavior as it did before the 1946 event — leading researchers to predict it will occur in or shortly after the end of summer.