"Space zombies" will appear in the sky, possibly from tonight

(NLDO) - From now on, a new star with the form of a fiery "zombie" will appear and be easily observed with the naked eye.

According to NASA, the "zombie" is the binary star system T Coronae Borealis (T CrB), consisting of an ancient red giant star and an Earth-sized white dwarf star.

In it, the white dwarf star - which is a stellar corpse - is "eating" its companion like a zombie.

However, because it eats so voraciously, this white dwarf star will "burst its belly" every 80 years, creating a thermonuclear explosion.

T Coronae Borealis consists of a "zombie" star about to explode and a red giant star also approaching death - Photo AI: Anh Thu

The light from the explosion was so powerful that even though the pair of stars were 3,000 light years away from Earth, we could still see it with the naked eye. It would have looked like a brilliant new star had just appeared in the sky.

Scientists have been predicting since the beginning of the year that the white dwarf will explode at any time. The suspense is growing as 2/3 of 2024 has passed.

Now, scientists say the cosmic zombie is so full it could explode at any time—today, tomorrow, next week, or any time before the end of the year. However, scientists are almost certain it will explode before September.

Of course you can only see the explosion at night, when it is not obscured by the strong light from the Sun.

According to astronomer Edward Bloome from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London (UK), observing the light produced in this event will provide important data for scientists to understand more about nova - supernova events.

Nova or supernova are periodic small stellar explosions or complete explosions when the star officially "dies".

Two previous eruptions of T CrB, in 1866 and 1946, have been well documented, and there is evidence that this nova may have also been observed in 1787 and 1217.

In 1217, the German monk Abbot Burchard, head of Ursberg Abbey, recorded a rare sighting in the constellation Corona Borealis (also known as the Northern Crown) to which the two stars belong.

He noted that: "A great sign was seen"; and described it as shining brightly for many days.

In 1866 and 1946, observations of this binary star showed it increasing in brightness for about 10 years, dimming slightly during a "pre-eruption decline" phase, and then becoming visible to the naked eye from Earth for about a week.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/zombie-vu-tru-se-xuat-hien-tren-bau-troi-co-the-tu-dem-nay-196240805083840578.htm