Project Binary Nova (Ep. 1) - When a White Dwarf Really Loves a Red Giant

I was able to start imaging HIP 78322 (The Blaze Star), also known as T Coronae Borealis. This star is located near the Corona Borealis at RA 15h 59m 10s Dec 25degress 55m 12s. It is also a Binary Star System of a White Dwarf and a Red Giant.Show more

The Red Giant has an apparent magnitude (brightness) of 10 (for now). However, the White Dwarf will erupting soon, causing a "nova" to take place. This has the potential the increase the apparent magnitude to 2, making it visible to the naked eye which could lead many people to believe that there is a "new" star in the night sky for only a few days. This is one of only a few star systems that have reoccurring "novas" in our galaxy.

For those who have been following my post on X, Guilded, & Rumble, you know that I am imagining these stars to document this eruption taking place in hopes I can show a before and after. I don't know if it will be a gradual change or a dramatic one (I'm leaning towards dramatic), but that is why I am undertaking this project. To learn so I can understand how our galaxy works.

Over the next couple of months I will be imaging T Coronae Borealis at least twice a month, and then processing my results. After processing, I will share my results to see if we can notice any changes as time goes on.

The Blaze Star has the potential of reaching an apparent magnitude of 2, which could have it be as bright as the near by star located inside the Corona Borealis, Alphecca.

Below is the current comparison of The Blaze Star to Alphecca. Both images were taking on the same night as a single shot exposure with no processing what so ever. There was some thing cloud cover so this is not the best result. Hopefully as we continue this project, we will have better imaging opportunities for the before and after images.