WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Astro Minute: Update on T Coronae Borealis

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

A heavenly explosion is slated for the coming months. Learn more on today's episode of Astro Minute!

Welcome to the Astro Minute, where we're exploring the universe 60 seconds out of time. I'm Lauren Smith, and today we're updating news of T. Corona Borealis. The recurrent Nova T. Corona Borealis is a binary star system in the constellation Corona Borealis, and it explodes about every 80 years. It is comprised of a hot white dwarf, which is accreting gas from its red giant companion. Whenever the stolen gas reaches a critical temperature, it ignites and is suddenly, violently, and brilliantly expelled into space. Typically invisible to the naked eye from Earth,

Ticarone suddenly becomes as bright as Polaris. Observations continue to indicate that T. Coronet's next explosion is imminent. Since it will only be visible to the naked eye for a few days, listen for news of this rare event and keep an eye on the faint semi-circular constellation Corona Borealis, currently adorning late evening skies about a third of the way from Arcturus to Vega. That's your Astro Minute. You know,