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Scientific American

Scientific American

We’re Overdue for a Once-in-a-Lifetime Naked-Eye Nova

Scientific American
Summary
Nutrition label

77% Informative

Every 80 years or so it dramatically brightens, going from obscurity to one of the 200 brightest stars in the sky in just a matter of hours .

The last time it did this was in 1946 , so you might expect it won’t again until 2026 , two years from now .

T Coronae Borealis , or T Cor Bor , is a binary star system with two stars that orbit each other.

The two stars are so close together that the white dwarf can physically pull material away from the red giant.

T Cor Bor will blow its top at least twice in the past, in 1866 and 1946 .

The system is a subclass of nova called a recurrent nova .

It's in the constellation of Corona Borealis , the northern crown.

Once it blows, it should be brighter than any of the stars in the immediate constellation.

VR Score

80

Informative language

78

Neutral language

45

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

35

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

long-living

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