08-05-2025
A 'once-in-a-lifetime' nova explosion is expected to be seen in the Tennessee night sky. Why it could happen 'any time now'
Another "once-in-a-lifetime" event is coming, but don't worry, it's happening 3,000 light years away. And we get to witness it in the Tennessee night sky.
A nova explosion in the binary star system T Coronae Borealis is predicted to happen in May 2025, which people across the United States are expected to be able to see. Scientists first alerted the public about this celestial phenomenon in June 2024. After months of hearing the binary star system that could go nova "any day now," the explosion never came. But now is the time, according to NASA scientists.
And the view from the Earth is expected to be pretty spectacular.
The highly anticipated nova in the T Coronae Borealis system isn't exactly on a specific timeline. With the system being thousands of light years away, scientists believe that the light projected from the explosion will finally make its way to Earth in the next few months, according to NASA.
T Coronae Borealis can be seen in a horseshoe-shaped constellation called Corona Borealis, or the "Northern Crown".
NASA encourages sky watchers to practice finding the constellation Corona Borealis in the eastern part of the sky during the first half of the night between Hercules and Bootes, so that people can have a point of comparison when the T CrB nova appears.
You can also find it with the two brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere – Arcturus and Vega. It should be between the two of those with the Big Dipper handle pointing the way, according to The Planetary Society.
In the T Coronae Borealis system, there is a red giant star with a smaller white dwarf star orbiting closely around it. The dwarf star is close enough to the puffed-up giant that the dwarf takes on some of the giant's hydrogens. When it accumulates enough, it explodes.
"About every 80 years, the white dwarf has accumulated so much of the other star's hydrogen, that it ignites a thermonuclear explosion. And that's the nova," read NASA's explanation of the phenomenon.
People across Tennessee should be able to see it with the naked eye once it happens.
Usually, T Coronae Borealis is very faint and people need a telescope to spot it in the night sky, but the explosion caused by the nova is expected to be so massive, spectators should be able to look up and see it with the naked eye.
Florida Today contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: A nova explosion may happen any time now. Will 'T CrB be seen in TN?
