Expected recurring Nova T CrB

[bomberbaz]

Sorry if this has already been posted up else where, I haven't seen it but then my visits have been less frequent than they used to be.

Is T CrB About to Blow its Top? - Sky & Telescope - Sky & Telescope (skyandtelescope.org)

A decent source for this so thought it worth reporting on. Very easy to find in just a degree below epsilon Crb in Corona Borealis but type in T Crb into stellarium will highlight where it is, also available under same search in Sky Safari 7.

A quick overview is this went Nova almost 80 years since, previously it went nova in the late 1800's and has recently brightened nearly a full magnitude plus has started shining with a more bluish tinge indicating it is heating up, so if you get a clear sky worth a quick shufty.

Once it blows it will shine at c+2 magnitude for around a week before fading rapidly.  Unless it has gained the magic 1.4 solar masses in which case it will be far more dramatic. Whichever it will make a dazzling object to observe and will be a fantastic spectroscopy imaging object. 

Steve

[Bivanus]

In a lighter tone 😄

[JeremyS]

Yes, the eruption of T CrB is anticipated sometime this year. Many predict in the next few months. But exactly when is not known, so keep a lookout.

Here’s something I wrote about it: https://britastro.org/section_news_item/get-set-for-the-next-eruption-of-the-recurrent-nova-t-coronae-borealis

 

[wookie1965]

I have read between April and September don't know how true it is. 

[JeremyS]

The most favoured prediction is by Prof Brad Schaefer which is February to August this year. But this assumes certain similarities to the last eruption in 1946. So noone actually knows.

Edited March 14 by JeremyS

[lunator]

I am looking forward to this. Hopefully it will be when the weather is generally better

 

[bomberbaz]

2 hours ago, Bivanus said:

In a lighter tone 😄

Ah well when I was checking my data I did get some links coming up to shall we say, less reliable or  sources who are likely to be more of a cut and paste approach to researching, so I was pleased when I found the S&T details and being a more reliable source of data.

[josefk]

Just catching up on some reading this afternoon with the March edition of Sky & Telescope and this article caught my eye too - I came here to post it but I’m clearly on the back foot. 🥴

I try not to get too excited about transitory events in the “before” phase for obvious UK weather related reasons but this one appeals to me and I’ve just added it to a viewing list for my next session whenever that is. It really appeals to me to have a deliberate observation of the area and a sketch of the star field “now” before the nova reoccurs so that any observation and opportunity for a sketch during the event (if I should be so lucky) would be especially meaningful. 
 

How exciting!

Edited March 17 by josefk

[josefk]

On 14/03/2024 at 20:33, JeremyS said:

Yes, the eruption of T CrB is anticipated sometime this year. Many predict in the next few months. But exactly when is not known, so keep a lookout.

Here’s something I wrote about it: https://britastro.org/section_news_item/get-set-for-the-next-eruption-of-the-recurrent-nova-t-coronae-borealis

 

How cool, that adds something very interesting over the S&T article @JeremyS - it would be fascinating to catch sight of the flickering visually before the main brightening. 😎

Edited March 17 by josefk

[bomberbaz]

5 hours ago, josefk said:

How cool, that adds something very interesting over the S&T article @JeremyS - it would be fascinating to catch sight of the flickering visually before the main brightening. 😎

It would mean clear skies from now til possibly 2026 (although it is likely to be sooner if what I read is correct)  and you being glued to the eyepiece at every waking (and dark) minute. So nice thought but  highly unlikely. 

I do share your enthusiasm for this event though, will be very interesting.

[josefk]

8 hours ago, bomberbaz said:

It would mean clear skies from now til possibly 2026 (although it is likely to be sooner if what I read is correct)  and you being glued to the eyepiece at every waking (and dark) minute. So nice thought but  highly unlikely. 

I do share your enthusiasm for this event though, will be very interesting.

And it will need a late night for a while too - I had a first go last night and realised it’s basically on my horizon before midnight and checking this morning it will be very low in the first half of the night for a few weeks yet. 

[Marvin Jenkins]

Great write up in Burnhams Celestial Handbook. Obviously not right up to date but facinating none the less.

Marv

[scotty1]

 

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/t-coronae-borealis-nova

Edited June 8 by scotty1

[MalcolmP]

On 14/03/2024 at 19:40, bomberbaz said:

Sorry if this has already been posted up else where, I haven't seen it but then my visits have been less frequent than they used to be.

Is T CrB About to Blow its Top? - Sky & Telescope - Sky & Telescope (skyandtelescope.org)

A decent source for this so thought it worth reporting on. Very easy to find in just a degree below epsilon Crb in Corona Borealis but type in T Crb into stellarium will highlight where it is, also available under same search in Sky Safari 7.

When I saw the predictions in the press and here on SGL I started watching TCrB but could not agree with the magnitudes etc reported in the page that you linked. 
Roll on a few months (!) and now while still waiting for it to do it's thing I re-read the link and see that it was published in s&t in 2016 !

" Is T CrB About to Blow its Top? By: Bob King April 20, 2016 "

Yup, I remember all the excitement back in 2015/16 and nought came of it back then, are we having another damp squib now, one wonders !

 

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, MalcolmP said:

When I saw the predictions in the press and here on SGL I started watching TCrB but could not agree with the magnitudes etc reported in the page that you linked. 
Roll on a few months (!) and now while still waiting for it to do it's thing I re-read the link and see that it was published in s&t in 2016 !

" Is T CrB About to Blow its Top? By: Bob King April 20, 2016 "

Yup, I remember all the excitement back in 2015/16 and nought came of it back then, are we having another damp squib now, one wonders !

 

What began in 2016 was T CrB’s super active phase. The same thing happened 10 years before the 1946 eruption. That phase ceased in 2023 (I wrote about it here:https://britastro.org/section_news_item/get-set-for-the-next-eruption-of-the-recurrent-nova-t-coronae-borealis) leading to a fade which the star is now in. A similar dip was seen a year or two before the 1946 eruption. Putting these things together, plus quite a few other things, has lead to the suggestion of an eruption in the next few months. But of course there is always the possibility that it does something different this time. We need to keep watching.