T Coronae Borealis - Once in a Lifetime Nova!

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What are we doing here?

T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) is a variable star located in the constellation Corona Borealis. Nicknamed the Blaze Star, it erupts approximately once every 80 years. It is normally a magnitude-10 star, which is typically viewed with a telescope or large binoculars. When it erupts, its brightness increases to about magnitude 2 or 1, almost as bright as the North Star. (Smaller magnitudes are brighter!)

T CrB is forecasted to erupt any time between now and January 2025, creating a once in a lifetime event for professional astronomers and amateur stargazers alike.

T Coronae Borealis is a dual-star system, consisting of a large cool red giant and a small hot white dwarf. The white dwarf siphons material from the red giant and grows. When it reaches critical mass, it explodes in a celestial event called a 'nova.' This is the cause of the increase in brightness that we see. When the nova erupts, the line above will shoot up from magnitude 10 to magnitude 2 or 1. We'll then know to go outside and see it for ourselves!

Above is a plot of the T CrB magnitude as a function of time using publicly available data. The data arrives at irregular intervals, but generally reflects the past week of observations. We at Antelope Innovations have built an interface to these data sources and are compiling them and displaying the results in near real-time. We are archiving all of these observations for future analysis after the eruption.