A ‘New Star' Suddenly Got 3 Million Times Brighter — How To See It
The Lupus constellation, home to V462 Lupi, a nova that is rapidly brightening. getty
The star has increased in brightness by almost 16 times in the 20 days since it was discovered. When it was first seen, V462 Lupi was +8.7 magnitude — too dim to be seen with the naked eye — but has since rapidly brightened to +5.7 magnitude, which is on the cusp of naked eye visibility. It's usually a +22.3 magnitude star, 3.3 million times dimmer than it's right now.
Since this is its first recorded eruption, it's unknown how long V462 Lupi will be visible to the naked eye. It could take just a few days to return to its regular dim levels, or it could take months.
V462 Lupi is in the constellation Lupus, the wolf, which is between the constellations Scorpius and Centaurus, but it's not known how far away it is from the solar system.
The star is known as a nova, a Latin term meaning 'new star.' It's thought to be a classical nova, an outburst in a binary system where a white dwarf (the dense leftover core of a dying sun-like star) and an expanding red giant star orbit each other. According to NASA, the white dwarf's gravity pulls hot hydrogen from its companion, which builds up and triggers a thermonuclear blast. Unlike supernovas, which obliterate stars, novas are recurring events that only affect the outer layer of a white dwarf. These outbursts can make the system millions of times brighter. How To See V462 Lupi
According to Sky and Telescope (which has a useful selection of sky charts), those observing from a latitude around 40 degrees north (California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey) will find V462 Lupi around 10 degrees above the southern horizon at around 10:30 p.m. local time. From the Florida Keys, at around 25 degrees north, V462 Lupi will be 25 degrees above the southern horizon. The higher it is in the sky, the easier it will be to see, though binoculars will make it easier. A finder chart for telescope users is available on the website of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. It's near the bright stars Delta and Beta Lupi.
V462 Lupi has appeared as astronomers await the explosion of a recurrent nova — a "repeating new star" that explodes every 80 years. Called T Coronae Borealis (also known as T CrB and the "Blaze Star"), it's classified as a 'cataclysmic variable star' and was observed to brighten to naked-eye visibility in both 1866 and then 80 years later in 1946. A 10-year drop in T CrB's light was reported in a paper in 2023 — thought to be a precursor to a rapid brightening — but it's yet to do so despite predictions it would go nova in March. T CrB is approximately 3,000 light-years away from the solar system — significantly farther than most stars visible in the night sky — which means it exploded 3,000 years ago.
Further reading Forbes A Star May Explode Next Week In Once-In-80-Years Event — What To Know By Jamie Carter Forbes NASA Urges Public To Look At Night Sky Now For 'Nova' Location By Jamie Carter Forbes NASA Spacecraft 'Touches Sun' For Final Time In Defining Moment For Humankind By Jamie Carter Forbes Get Ready For The Shortest Day Since Records Began As Earth Spins Faster By Jamie Carter
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