A rare astronomical phenomenon known as a “zombie star” could light up the night sky in the near future after it has risen from the dead. Space experts have revealed that T Coronae Borealis, also known as the ‘Blaze Star’, could explode at any moment after decades of inactivity.

This explosion is likely to cause a burst of light that is capable of illuminating a dead binary star system for the first time in 80 years. Conformable GODMOTHERthe star is part of a system that is about 3,000 light years away. The system contains a dead Earth-sized star that, due to the presence of pressure and heat, could cause a thermonuclear explosion visible to the naked eye from our planet. The star earned his nickname due to his ability to return to life after such an explosion.

A cosmic vampire

A report from the Daily Mail RECORDED The Blaze Star pulls material from the nearby red giant, siphoning hydrogen and other elements through its gravitational pull, much like a cosmic vampire.

The beginning is too faint to be seen without a telescope. But when the explosion erupts, it becomes as bright as the stars in the familiar constellations.

Dr Elizabeth Hays, head of NASA’s Goddard Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, said space enthusiasts are always on the lookout for “new events”. “Typically, nova events are so faint and far away that it is difficult to identify where the erupting energy is concentrated. This one will be very close, with a lot of eyes on it,” she said.

It first appeared over 800 years ago

The first recorded sighting of the Blaze Star occurred more than 800 years ago in the fall of 1217, according to GODMOTHER. A man named Burchard, an abbot based in Germany, documented his experience of seeing “a faint star which for a time shone with great light.”

The star was last seen in 1946. According to a NASA press release, T Coronae Borealisthe behavior this time is “strikingly similar” to what was observed in the months leading up to the 1946 explosion.

Once the explosion occurs, the burst is expected to be brief and visible to the naked eye for just under a week. However, Dr. Rebekah Hounsell, an assistant researcher specializing in nova events at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, thinks it would be quite a sight to behold.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of new astronomers out there, giving young people a cosmic event that they can observe for themselves, ask their own questions and collect their own data,” she said.

Blaze Star is part of a binary system that appears in the Northern Crown. The latter is a horseshoe-shaped curve of stars that are visible on clear nights. The NASA statement added that it can be identified by locating the two brightest stars in the northern hemisphere — Arcturus and Vega — and tracing a straight line from one to the other, which will lead sky watchers to Hercules and Corona Borealis.

Hays noted that scientists hope to study “different wavelengths” that would hopefully provide “data to begin to unlock the specific structure and processes involved. We can’t wait to get a full picture of what’s going on.”