While a supernova is the explosive death of a massive star, a nova refers to the sudden, brief explosion from a collapsed star known as a white dwarf. The dwarf star remains intact, releasing material in a repetitive cycle that can occur for thousands of years. “It’s incredibly exciting to have this front-row seat.”T Coronae Borealis, otherwise known as the “Blaze Star,” is a binary system in the Corona Borealis that includes a dead white dwarf star and an aging red giant star. The red giant becomes increasingly unstable over time as it heats up, casting off its outer layers that land as matter on the white dwarf star. Cooke recalled that the last nova he witnessed — Nova Cygni in 1975 — had a similar brightness to what is expected from T Coronae Borealis.

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Persons: “ It’s, ”, Rebekah Hounsell, ” Hounsell, “, Burchard, William J, Cooke, Vega, skywatchers, Elizabeth Hays, ” Hays, they’ll, Hounsell, ” Cooke, —, Koji Mukai Organizations: CNN —, NASA, Goddard Space Flight, “ Blaze, Blaze Star, Coronae, Polaris, North Star, Northern Hemisphere, Northern Crown, Northern, Corona, NASA Goddard, “ Citizen, ” Locations: Greenbelt , Maryland, Ursberg, Germany