T Coronae Borealis

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T Coronae Borealis
TCrBLocation.png
Location of T Coronae Borealis (circled in red)
Observation data
Epoch J2000       Equinox J2000
Constellation Corona Borealis
Right ascension 15h 59m 30.1622s [1]
Declination +25° 55′ 12.613″ [1]
Apparent magnitude  (V)2.0–10.8 [2]
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage Red giant + white dwarf
Spectral type M3III+p [3]
Variable type recurrent nova [2]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)−27.79 [4]  km/s
Proper motion (μ)RA: −4.461  mas/yr [1]
Dec.: 12.016  mas/yr [1]
Parallax (π)1.0920 ± 0.0275  mas [1]
Distance 2,990 ± 80  ly
(920 ± 20  pc)
Orbit
Period (P)227.55  d [5]
Semi-major axis (a)0.54  AU [6]
Eccentricity (e)0.0 [5]
Inclination (i)67 [7] °
Details
Red giant
Mass 1.12 [6]   M☉
Radius 75 [7]   R☉
Luminosity 655 [8]   L☉
Surface gravity (log g)2.0 [9]   cgs
Temperature 3,600 [9]   K
White dwarf
Mass 1.37 [6]   M☉
Luminosity~100 [7]   L☉
Other designations
BD+26° 2765, HD  143454, HIP  78322, HR  5958, SAO  84129, 2MASS J15593015+2555126, T Cor Bor [10]
Database references
SIMBAD data

T Coronae Borealis (T CrB), nicknamed the Blaze Star, is a binary star and a recurrent nova about 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Corona Borealis. [11] It was first discovered in outburst in 1866 by John Birmingham, [12] though it had been observed earlier as a 10th magnitude star. [13] It may have been observed in 1217 and in 1787 as well. [14] [15]

Contents

Description

The light curve of T Coronae Borealis during the time surrounding its 1946 eruption, plotted from AAVSO data TCrBLightCurve.png
The light curve of T Coronae Borealis during the time surrounding its 1946 eruption, plotted from AAVSO data

T CrB normally has a magnitude of about 10, which is near the limit of typical binoculars. Well documented outbursts have been seen twice, reaching magnitude 2.0 on May 12, 1866 and magnitude 3.0 on February 9, 1946, [16] though a more recent paper shows the 1866 outburst with a possible peak range of magnitude 2.5 ± 0.5. [17] Even when at peak magnitude of 2.5, this recurrent nova is dimmer than about 120 stars in the night sky. [18] It is sometimes nicknamed the Blaze Star. [19]

T Coronae Borealis based on a description given by Kraft using the updated mass ratio given by Stanishev TCrBsketch.png
T Coronae Borealis based on a description given by Kraft using the updated mass ratio given by Stanishev

T CrB is a binary system containing a large cool component and a smaller hot component. The cool component is a red giant that transfers material to the hot component. [20] The hot component is a white dwarf surrounded by an accretion disc, all hidden inside a dense cloud of material from the red giant. When the system is quiescent, the red giant dominates the visible light output and the system appears as an M3 giant. The hot component contributes some emission and dominates the ultraviolet output. During outbursts, the transfer of material to the hot component increases greatly, the hot component expands, and the luminosity of the system increases. [6] [7] [21] [22]

AAVSO light curve of recurrent nova T CrB from 1 Jan 2008 to 17 Nov 2010, showing rotating ellipsoidal variability. Up is brighter and down is fainter. Day numbers are Julian day. T-CrB-Lightcurve-AAVSO.gif
AAVSO light curve of recurrent nova T CrB from 1 Jan 2008 to 17 Nov 2010, showing rotating ellipsoidal variability. Up is brighter and down is fainter. Day numbers are Julian day.

The two components of the system orbit each other about every 228 days. The orbit is almost circular and is inclined at an angle of 67°. The stars are separated by 0.54  AU . [6]

2016–present activity

On 20 April 2016, the Sky & Telescope website reported a sustained brightening since February 2015 from magnitude 10.5 to about 9.2. A similar event was reported in 1938, followed by another outburst in 1946. [23] By June 2018, the star had dimmed slightly but still remained at an unusually high level of activity. By mid-2023, it faded by 0.35 magnitude; the lowest brightness seen since 2016. [24] A similar dimming occurred in the year before the 1946 outburst, [25] indicating an eruption before September 2024. [26] As of December 2024, such a nova has not yet been observed, although it is believed to be imminent. [27]

Predictions of the next nova:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corona Borealis</span> Constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere

Corona Borealis is a small constellation in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Its brightest stars form a semicircular arc. Its Latin name, inspired by its shape, means "northern crown". In classical mythology Corona Borealis generally represented the crown given by the god Dionysus to the Cretan princess Ariadne and set by her in the heavens. Other cultures likened the pattern to a circle of elders, an eagle's nest, a bear's den or a smokehole. Ptolemy also listed a southern counterpart, Corona Australis, with a similar pattern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova</span> Nuclear explosion in a white dwarf star

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close binary systems, but causes of the dramatic appearance of a nova vary, depending on the circumstances of the two progenitor stars. The main sub-classes of novae are classical novae, recurrent novae (RNe), and dwarf novae. They are all considered to be cataclysmic variable stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R Coronae Borealis</span> Variable star in the constellation Corona Borealis

R Coronae Borealis is a low-mass yellow supergiant star in the constellation of Corona Borealis. It is the prototype of the R Coronae Borealis variable of variable stars, which fade by several magnitudes at irregular intervals. R Coronae Borealis itself normally shines at approximately magnitude 6, just about visible to the naked eye, but at intervals of several months to many years fades to as faint as 15th magnitude. Over successive months it then gradually returns to its normal brightness, giving it the nickname "reverse nova", after the more common type of star which rapidly increases in brightness before fading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpha Coronae Borealis</span> Binary star in the constellation Corona Borealis

Alpha Coronae Borealis, officially named Alphecca, is an eclipsing binary star in the constellation of Corona Borealis. It is located about 75 light years from the Sun and contains two main sequence stars, one class A and one class G.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rho Coronae Borealis</span> Star in the constellation Corona Borealis

Rho Coronae Borealis is a yellow dwarf star 57.1 light-years away in the constellation of Corona Borealis. The star is thought to be similar to the Sun with nearly the same mass, radius, and luminosity. It is orbited by four known exoplanets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beta Coronae Borealis</span> Star in the constellation Corona Borealis

Beta Coronae Borealis is a binary star in the constellation of Corona Borealis. It appears to the naked eye to be a single star and is the second-brightest star in its constellation with an apparent visual magnitude varying between 3.65 and 3.72. Based on parallax measurements taken during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 112 light-years from the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RS Ophiuchi</span> Recurrent nova in the constellation Ophiuchus

RS Ophiuchi is a recurrent nova system approximately 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. In its quiet phase it has an apparent magnitude of about 12.5. It has been observed to erupt in 1898, 1933, 1958, 1967, 1985, 2006 and 2021 and reached about magnitude 5 on average. A further two eruptions, in 1907 and 1945, have been inferred from archival data. The recurrent nova is produced by a white dwarf star and a red giant in a binary system. About every 15 years, enough material from the red giant builds up on the surface of the white dwarf to produce a thermonuclear explosion. The white dwarf orbits close to the red giant, with an accretion disc concentrating the overflowing atmosphere of the red giant onto the white dwarf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kappa Coronae Borealis</span> Star in the constellation Corona Borealis

Kappa Coronae Borealis, Latinized from κ Coronae Borealis, is a star approximately 98 light years away in the constellation of Corona Borealis. The apparent magnitude is +4.82 and the absolute magnitude is +2.35. It is an orange K-type subgiant star of spectral type K1IV, meaning it has almost completely exhausted its hydrogen supply in its core. It is 1.32 times as massive as the Sun yet has brightened to 11.6 times its luminosity. Around 2.5 billion years old, it was formerly an A-type main sequence star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U Scorpii</span> Recurrent nova system first seen in 1863

U Scorpii is a recurrent nova system; one of 10 known recurring novae in the Milky Way galaxy. Located near the northern edge of the constellation Scorpius it normally has a magnitude of 18, but reaches a magnitude of about 8 during outbursts. Outbursts have been observed in 1863, 1906, 1936, 1979, 1987, 1999, 2010, and 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamma Coronae Borealis</span> Star in the constellation Corona Borealis

Gamma Coronae Borealis, Latinized from γ Coronae Borealis, is a binary star system in the northern constellation of Corona Borealis. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.83. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 22.33 mas as seen from Earth, it is located about 146 light years from the Sun. The system is moving closer to the Sun with a radial velocity of about −15 km/s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theta Coronae Borealis</span> Variable star in the constellation Corona Borealis

Theta Coronae Borealis, Latinized from θ Coronae Borealis, is a binary star system in the constellation Corona Borealis. It shines with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.13. There are two components: Theta Coronae Borealis A with an apparent magnitude of about 4.2, while Theta Coronae Borealis B lies around 1 arcsecond distant and has an apparent magnitude of 6.29. The system is located around 375 light-years from Earth, as estimated from its parallax of 8.69 milliarcseconds. It is estimated to be 85 million years old, with the primary star expected to remain on the main sequence burning its core hydrogen for another 75 million years and the secondary around 500 million years. Both stars will cool and expand once their core hydrogen is exhausted, becoming red giants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Coronae Borealis</span> Yellow giant star in the constellation Corona Borealis

Delta Coronae Borealis, Latinized from δ Coronae Borealis, is a variable star in the constellation Corona Borealis. Its apparent magnitude varies regularly between apparent magnitude 4.57 and 4.69, and it is around 170 light-years distant.

Tau Coronae Borealis, Latinized from τ Coronae Borealis, is a possible astrometric and spectroscopic binary star system in the northern constellation of Corona Borealis. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.76.

Iota Coronae Borealis, Latinized from ι Coronae Borealis, is a binary star system in the constellation Corona Borealis. It is visible to the naked eye with a combined apparent visual magnitude of is 4.96. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 10.46 mas as seen from the Earth, it is located about 312 light years from the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambda Coronae Borealis</span> Yellow-white hued star in the constellation Corona Borealis

Lambda Coronae Borealis, its name Latinised from λ Coronae Borealis, is a single star in the northern constellation of Corona Borealis. In publications it is also identified as HR 5936 and HD 142908. It has a yellow-white hue and is dimly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.43. The star is located at a distance of 136 light years based on parallax, but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −12 km/s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RY Sagittarii</span> Yellow supergiant star in the constellation Sagittarius

RY Sagittarii is a yellow supergiant and an R Coronae Borealis type variable star in the constellation Sagittarius. Although it ostensibly has the spectrum of a G-type star, it differs markedly from most in that it has almost no hydrogen and much carbon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AG Pegasi</span> Star in the constellation Pegasus

AG Pegasi is a symbiotic binary star in the constellation Pegasus. It is a close binary composed of a red giant and white dwarf, estimated to be around 2.5 and 0.6 times the mass of the Sun respectively. It is classified as a symbiotic nova; it has undergone one extremely slow nova outburst and a smaller outburst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigma Coronae Borealis</span> Star in the constellation Corona Borealis

Sigma Coronae Borealis is a star system in the constellation of Corona Borealis. It is a quintuple star system containing three sunlike main-sequence stars and two other low-mass stars. The combined visual magnitude is 5.3 and the system lies 74 light years from Earth. σ CrB A is the variable star TZ Coronae Borealis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IM Normae</span> Recurrent nova in the constellation Norma

IM Normae is a recurrent nova in the constellation Norma, one of only ten known in the Milky Way. It has been observed to erupt in 1920 and 2002, reaching magnitude 8.5 from a baseline of 18.3. It was poorly monitored after the first eruption, so it is possible that it erupted in between these dates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V392 Persei</span> Nova in the constellation Perseus

V392 Persei, also known as Nova Persei 2018, is a bright nova in the constellation Perseus discovered on April 29, 2018. It was previously known as a dwarf nova.

References

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  15. ↑ Thompson, Joanna (September 15, 2023). "Evidence of mysterious 'recurring nova' that could reappear in 2024 found in medieval manuscript from 1217". Live Science. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
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  21. ↑ Iłkiewicz, Krystian; Mikołajewska, Joanna; Stoyanov, Kiril; Manousakis, Antonios; Miszalski, Brent (2016). "Active phases and flickering of a symbiotic recurrent nova T CrB". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 462 (3): 2695. arXiv: 1607.06804 . Bibcode:2016MNRAS.462.2695I. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stw1837 . S2CID   119104759.
  22. ↑ Luna, GJM; Mukai, K.; Sokoloski, J. L.; Nelson, T.; Kuin, P.; Segreto, A.; Cusumano, G.; Jaque Arancibia, M.; Nuñez, N. E. (2018). "Dramatic change in the boundary layer in the symbiotic recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 619 (1): 61. arXiv: 1807.01304 . Bibcode:2018A&A...619A..61L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833747. S2CID   119078482.
  23. ↑ "Is T CrB About to Blow its Top?". Sky & Telescope website. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  24. ↑ Schaefer, B.E.; Kloppenborg, B.; Waagen, E.O. "Announcing T CrB pre-eruption dip". AAVSO. American Association of Variable Star Observers. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  25. ↑ Todd, Ian. "T Coronae Borealis nova event guide and how to prepare". Sky at Night Magazine. BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  26. ↑ "NASA, Global Astronomers Await Rare Nova Explosion - NASA". 2024-06-06. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  27. ↑ Pearson, Ezzy; Lintott, Chris (August 20, 2024). "T Coronae Borealis nova could become a 'new star' in the sky any day now, and will be as bright as the North Star". BBC Sky at Night. Our Media. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  28. ↑ Shears, J. H. (2024-06-01). "An Independent Discovery of the 1946 Eruption of the Recurrent Nova T Coronae Borealis and an Early Prediction of a Future Outburst". Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society. 8 (6): 157. Bibcode:2024RNAAS...8..157S. doi: 10.3847/2515-5172/ad566b . ISSN   2515-5172.
  29. ↑ Schaefer, Bradley E. (2023-09-01). "The B & V light curves for recurrent nova T CrB from 1842-2022, the unique pre- and post-eruption high-states, the complex period changes, and the upcoming eruption in 2025.5 ± 1.3". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 524 (2): 3146–3165. arXiv: 2303.04933 . Bibcode:2023MNRAS.524.3146S. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stad735 . ISSN   0035-8711.
  30. ↑ Schaefer, Bradley E.; Kloppenborg, Brian; Waagen, Elizabeth O.; Observers, The Aavso (2023-06-01). "Recurrent nova T CrB has just started its Pre-eruption Dip in March/April 2023, so the eruption should occur around 2024.4 +- 0.3". The Astronomer's Telegram. 16107: 1. Bibcode:2023ATel16107....1S.
  31. ↑ Maslennikova, N. A.; Tatarnikov, A. M.; Tatarnikova, A. A.; Dodin, A. V.; Shenavrin, V. I.; Burlak, M. A.; Zheltoukhov, S. G.; Strakhov, I. A. (2023-10-01). "Recurrent Symbiotic Nova T Coronae Borealis before Outburst". Astronomy Letters. 49 (9): 501–515. arXiv: 2308.10011 . Bibcode:2023AstL...49..501M. doi:10.1134/S1063773723090037. ISSN   1063-7737.
  32. ↑ Toalá, Jesús A.; González-Martín, Omaira; Sacchi, Andrea; Vasquez-Torres, Diego A. (2024-08-01). "The X-ray rise and fall of the symbiotic recurrent nova system T CrB". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 532 (2): 1421–1433. arXiv: 2405.08980 . Bibcode:2024MNRAS.532.1421T. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae1579 . ISSN   0035-8711.
  33. ↑ Schneider, Jean (October 2024). "When will the Next T CrB Eruption Occur?". Research Notes of the AAS. 8 (10): 272. Bibcode:2024RNAAS...8..272S. doi: 10.3847/2515-5172/ad8bba . ISSN   2515-5172.

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