Latest news with #CoronaBorealis
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- Science
- South Wales Argus
Finding the summer triangle in the night sky this week
Looking at Vega whilst facing east, sweep a short distance down and to the left, and you'll find Deneb. Sweeping down and to the right from Deneb, Altair, can be found at a greater distance situated above the southeastern horizon. Together, these three bright stars form the 'Summer Triangle'. As featured in last week's article, astronomers now believe that 3I/Atlas, the 12 mile-wide object that recently entered our solar system, is literally a wandering galactic relic that is probably billions of years old. Discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, (ATLAS), telescope in Chile, 3I/Atlas is gathering a similar amount of attention as the large cigar-shaped object Oumuamua, (pronounced oh MOO-uh MOO-uh), drew when it passed through our neck of the woods in 2017. 3I/Atlas is currently speeding through our solar system at 150,000mph, scheduled to Mars in October at a distance of 18 million miles from the red planet, then passing Earth at a distance of 150 million miles in December. This intriguing object is thought to be in the order of seven billion years old, older than our Sun, estimated to have formed 4.6 billion years ago. Measuring larger than the asteroid that brought the curtain down on the reign of the dinosaurs, 3I/Atlas heralds from a completely different region of the Milky Way, when compared to the previous two visitors, Oumuamua, and 2I/Borisov, the latter of which was discovered in August 2019. Recently, a very rare event took place in the southern hemisphere whereby not one, but two stars went nova, giving observers the chance to see two 'new stars' shining brightly at night. In northern hemisphere skies, the skies we observe, (and not to be outdone), we may well have our own nova to look forward to. A nova and a supernova derive from the same stable but arise from different causes involving stars in different phases of their lives, but needless to say a supernova is a major outburst with a nova less so. The latter applies to a star named T Corona Borealis which every 80 years dims slightly before erupting, and should become visible to the naked eye. T Corona Borealis is situated in a small constellation named Corona Borealis, not far from the bright star Vega. Whilst noted in Greek mythology, Corona Borealis also has a place in Welsh mythology, being referred to as Caer Arianrhod, 'the Castle of the Silver Circle,' the heavenly residence of Lady Arianrhod, the 'Silver Wheel Goddess of Wales' Lasting occurring in 1946, T Corona Borealis dimmed in March 2023 as a precursor to the nova occurring, and if the outburst follows the same pattern, we could well see a nova in our skies. Venus continues to 'shine' brightly in the skies before dawn and on mornings of Monday, July 21, and Tuesday, July 22, the crescent Moon makes for a lovely pairing. Send your astrophotography pictures to: thenightsky@
New York Post
05-06-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Doctors near HIV cure with ‘previously impossible' discovery: ‘We have never seen anything close to as good'
An estimated 39 million people around the world are living with HIV — and, while treatment options can ensure they have long, healthy lives, there is no known cure. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) — the most effective current treatment — can reduce HIV levels in the body so low the virus is almost undetectable. An estimated 39 million people around the world are living with HIV. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images However, the fact that the virus can hide in certain white blood cells has been a major hurdle in fully eradicating it. Now, researchers in Australia have developed a novel lipid nanoparticle, dubbed LNP X, capable of delivering mRNA into these elusive cells. Once inside, the mRNA instructs the cells to reveal the concealed virus, potentially allowing the immune system or additional therapies to target and destroy it. Paula Cevaal, research fellow at the Doherty Institute and co-first author of the study, told the Guardian that this remarkable scientific feat was 'previously thought impossible.' 'In the field of biomedicine, many things eventually don't make it into the clinic — that is the unfortunate truth; I don't want to paint a prettier picture than what is the reality,' Cevaal said. Researchers in Australia have developed a novel lipid nanoparticle, dubbed LNP X, capable of delivering mRNA into white blood cells harboring HIV (pictured here). Corona Borealis – 'But in terms of specifically the field of HIV cure, we have never seen anything close to as good as what we are seeing, in terms of how well we are able to reveal this virus,' Cevaal added. 'So from that point of view, we're very hopeful that we are also able to see this type of response in an animal, and that we could eventually do this in humans.' The results were published last week in the journal Nature Communications. While it could take years to get to human clinical trials — the implications are enormous. The findings add to the latest scientific advancements that suggest a cure for HIV could be on the horizon. Last year, researchers in Amsterdam used gene-editing technology to eliminate all traces of the virus from cells in the laboratory. And last July, a 60-year-old German man was declared HIV-free, making him the seventh person to be cured.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Will nova explosion 'star' shine over Ohio soon? Why NASA is excited about T Coronae Borealis
Astronomers have been patiently waiting for a "new star" to glow in the skies above Ohio and across the world. That "new star" will appear when the star T Coronae Borealis goes nova. It was originally expected to happen last year, but there are now signs that the explosion is nearing, according to NASA. T Coronae Borealis, a binary star system about 3,000 light years away, is usually far too dim to see with the naked eye. However, after the star goes nova, the system is expected to be as bright as the North Star, Polaris. The star goes nova every 80 years or so, and last exploded in 1946, per NASA. The star could go nova at any time in the next few months, according to the May 2025 skywatching guide produced by NASA. "Predicting exactly when novas or any sort of stellar outburst will happen is tricky," the guide states. It was originally expected to go nova between February and September 2024. However, excitement about the nova has grown since astronomers observed the star suddenly dim, per NASA, much as it did right before its previous nova. T Coronae Borealis is a binary star system made up of a red giant and a white dwarf. According to NASA, the white dwarf orbits the red giant closely enough that it continually grabs hydrogen from the bigger star. When the white dwarf has accumulated enough of the other star's hydrogen, it ignites a thermonuclear explosion, causing the nova. This happens every 80 years or so. T Coronae Borealis is located in the constellation Corona Borealis, or the Northern Crown, between the two bright stars Arcturus and Vega. Use the Big Dipper's handle to point you to the correct part of the sky. The star is normally far too faint to see with the unaided eye. But its nova will be as bright as the constellation's brightest star. Try looking for it on clear, dark nights before the nova happens, so you'll have a comparison when a new star suddenly becomes visible there. The word "nova" comes from the Latin word meaning "new." In astronomical terms, it can seem like there's a new star in the heavens even though that star might be very old and at the end stages of its life. During a nova event, explains NASA, energy explodes from a white dwarf star. Dr. Rebekah Hounsell, an assistant research scientist specializing in nova events at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said white dwarf stars aren't much larger than planet Earth but are much more massive. Usually, they're too dim to see at night, but when a nova happens, the sudden explosion can make the star shine brightly enough to be viewed with the naked eye from trillions of miles away. Stars don't always play nice with each other, say experts. Most stars are bound by gravity to one or more companion stars, and things can get interesting — or violent — if these stars get too close. Sometimes when a small white dwarf star orbits a regular star, it can siphon off the larger star's energy. That's because a white dwarf star has about the same mass as Earth's sun, Hounsell said. Its gravity is extremely powerful, not as strong as a black hole, according to Chicago's Adler Planetarium, but roughly 100,000 to 300,000 times the gravity on Earth. "So material is being pulled away from the companion star by the gravity of the white dwarf," Hounsell said. "This material builds up in layers onto the white dwarf's surface and the layers get really, really hot, but the material can't expand." Eventually, the pressure and heat trigger a massive thermonuclear explosion, Hounsell said, which is called a nova. A supernova is the final, fiery explosion that can destroy a dying star. It can briefly outshine entire galaxies, writes and radiate more energy than our sun will produce in its entire lifetime. But while supernovas occur only once, a nova can happen again and again. After a nova explosion, the dwarf star remains intact and the cycle triggering another explosion starts over, which NASA says can take tens, hundreds or even thousands of years. The nova should last roughly a week, Hounsell said, reaching peak brightness in its first few days before fading away. The following free astronomy apps can help you locate stars, planets, and constellations. SkyView Lite for iPhone | Google Play Star Walk 2 for iPhone | Google Play Star Chart for iPhone | Google Play for iPhone | Google Play This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Will T Coronae Borealis nova create 'new star' over Ohio? NASA is excited
Forbes
11-05-2025
- Science
- Forbes
A New Star Will Soon Appear In The Sky — All About T Coronae Borealis
A drawing star map pointing T CrB in Corona Borealis with a red pencil Have you heard about the nova? Called T Coronae Borealis, also known as T CrB or the 'Blaze Star,' this very dim point of light in the eastern night sky after dark is set to dramatically brighten sometime in 2025. When it does, it will become visible to the naked eye for the first time since 1946 and for the last time until about 2105. A 'recurrent nova" — a star system that brightens briefly every 80 years or so — it's the only one of its kind that does so within the span of a human lifetime. However, unless you know what you're looking at and how to find it, you'll likely miss it. Here's everything you need to know n about T Coronae Borealis, in numbers: T Coronae Borealis is to stars — an expanding red giant star and a small, dense white dwarf star. As it expands, the former is spewing hydrogen onto the latter's surface. When the temperature of the white dwarf reaches around 18 million degrees Fahrenheit (about 10 million degrees Celsius), there's a thermonuclear explosion — and a new star in the sky for a few days. Crucially, the white dwarf is not destroyed, and the 80-year-long process begins again. That's how far away this event will take place. Although the star will seem to erupt in real-time, the explosion happened around 3,000 years ago. Traveling at light speed, it takes that long for T Coronae Borealis' light to reach us. It's the same for all stars — even the sun's light is eight minutes old. Everything you see has already happened — including the thermonuclear flash on T Coronae Borealis. That's how long it's been since the last eruption in 1946. Before that, it was 1866 — we have the records from previous generations of astronomers. Of course, the fact that it's 3,000 light-years distant means it's almost certainly undergone a further 37 thermonuclear explosions, the light of which is on its way to us. A red giant star and white dwarf orbit each other in this animation of a nova similar to T Coronae ... More Borealis. T T Coronae Borealis lies just outside Corona Borealis, a small, crown-shaped arc of seven stars whose name translates to Northern Crown. It's a small and little-known yet beautiful constellation in the Northern Hemisphere. The exact location of T Coronae Borealis is just outside the curve of stars, close to faint Epsilon Coronae Borealis. Find it now so you'll notice the sudden change when it does "go nova." To find Corona Borealis, start with orangish Arcturus in the constellation Boötes and Vega in Lyra — two of the five brightest stars in the entire sky — and look in between for the constellation Corona Borealis. Look east about an hour after dark, and you'll see it as a crescent. When it does flash, T Coronae Borealis will leap from +10 magnitude — which is beyond human sight — to +2 magnitude. That's about the same brightness as Polaris, the North Star, the 48th brightest star in the night sky. T Coronae Borealis will be visible to the naked eye for a few nights. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A 'new star' could appear in night skies for the first time in 80 years: What we know
A "new star" is expected to appear in night skies soon due to a distant nova explosion. Originally, the T Coronae Borealis star system, which is 3,000 light years away from Earth, was expected to become visible to the naked eye for the first time in roughly 80 years in 2024. This prediction never came to fruition. However, NASA rekindled excitement about the potential nova explosion to start off May 2025, mentioning changes in the system's behavior. Here's what we know about the potential "explosion" that could be coming to night skies around the world within a matter of months. Did T Coronae Borealis 'explode'? When will the nova explosion occur? Previously, many astronomers predicted T CrB would undergo a nova explosion between May and September of 2024. Obviously, this prediction turned out to be incorrect. In NASA's May 2025 skywatching guide, however, the nova was brought once again into the public eye. "Now, you may have heard about this months ago, as astronomers started keeping watch for the nova midway through 2024, but it hasn't happened yet," NASA's guide said. "Predicting exactly when novas or any sort of stellar outburst will happen is tricky, but excitement began growing when astronomers observed the star to dim suddenly, much as it did right before its previous nova in 1946." Despite these observations, however, NASA's guide was only able to say that the nova will likely happen "in the coming months." With 3,000 light-years between the star and Earth, predicting such a phenomenon can be tricky. What is a nova explosion? Are novas and supernovas the same? A nova explosion is different from a supernova explosion. National Geographic explained that supernovas are "core collapses," leading to the complete destruction of a star. This can only occur in stars about eight times the mass of our own sun. Novas like the one T CrB will undergo are surface explosions that fling matter into space without destroying the star. NASA said that T CrB is extra special, as it is a recurrent nova, undergoing regular (though only every 80 years) explosions. There are only five of these recurrent novas in our galaxy. T CrB is a binary system, meaning a solar system with two stars instead of the one star in systems like Earth's – the "explosion" isn't actually a single cosmic body exploding, but as National Geographic put it, "a celestial dance between two dying stars orbiting one another." What does a nova explosion look like? The T CrB star system is normally much too dim to see with the naked eye. Its normal magnitude is plus 10, but during the nova explosion event, it will jump to plus 2, a similar brightness to the North Star, Polaris. NASA said that at peak brightness, the nova should be visible to the naked eye for several days, and just over a week with binoculars, before it dims again. Sky chart showing constellation Corona Borealis with the location where nova "T CrB" is predicted to appear. The view depicts the constellation with the nova occurring, indicated by an arrow. How to see the nova explosion NASA explained how to view the nova once it becomes visible. The organization suggested becoming familiar with the constellation Corona Borealis, or the Northern Crown, which is a small, semicircular arc near constellations Bootes and Hercules. This is where the nova will be visible, appearing similar to a bright new "star." More: These 2 Western NC rivers were named among America's 11 most endangered historic places Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@ This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Nova explosion? Here's when we could see a 'new star in night skies
