(NEW YORK) — The once-in-a-lifetime explosion of T Coronae Borealis, also known as the “Blaze Star,” is still pending — but the event will be occurring soon, according to astronomers.
Stargazers watched the skies with bated breath on Thursday night in hopes that T Coronae Borealis, a system consisting of a hot, red giant star and a cool, white dwarf star about 3,000 light-years away, would be visible with the naked eye once the explosion occurred.
In June, NASA predicted that the Blaze Star could explode before September. Another prediction came in October, when astronomers at the Paris Observatory predicted that the explosion would happen on March 27, 2025.
Now that those dates have come and gone, viewers have zeroed in on later predictions, including Nov. 10, June 25, 2026, and Feb. 8, 2027.
It is difficult to predict the exact date of explosion, Louisiana State University physics and astronomy professor Bradley Schaefer, told ABC News last year.
The explosion of T Coronae Borealis, a recurring NOVA, only happens once every 79 to 80 years, according to NASA. It is one of 10 known recurring novas in the Milky Way that erupt on timescales of less than a century.
The last recorded outburst was in 1946. When it explodes, it will be in the top 50 brightest stars in the night sky, astronomers say.
“It’s going to be one of the brightest stars in the sky,” Schaefer said.
Since March 2023, the Blaze Star has displayed a pre-eruption dip in brightness, typically a sign that an outburst is imminent, according to the American Association of Variable Star Observers.
It is typically far too dim to see with the unaided eye at a magnitude +10, according to NASA, but it will jump to a magnitude +2 during the explosion.
The Blaze Star is located in the Northern Crown, a horseshoe-shaped curve of stars west of the Hercules constellation, according to NASA. Once the explosion occurs, viewers can look for it between the bright stars of Vega and Arcturus.
ABC News’ Leah Sarnoff contributed to this report.
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