Ephemeris: 06/27/2024 – Why do astronomers think a nova will appear this year?

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, June 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:59. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 1:18 tomorrow morning.

Our expected nova this year, T Coronae Borealis, is expected by some astronomers to erupt sometime in September give or take, but nobody knows for sure. The last eruption was seen in 1946. And if the average time between outbursts is 80 years, it seems to be two years early this time. In 1946 there were observations showing that there were some precursor effects going on before the eruption, and those have been noticed this time too, which is which why we assume that the nova will occur this year. Stars that vary in brightness are denoted in a constellation by a letter starting with R through Z, then RR, RS, etcetera through ZZ. After that it’s V and a number plus the constellation name or abbreviation.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

This animated GIF shows the constellations of Hercules, Corona Borealis and Boötes from left to right. Flashing on and off is T Coronae Borealis (T CrB). It is shown at its approximate maximum brightness, about the same as Alphecca (spelled Alphekka here). Created using Stellarium and GIMP.