Science is Always Fun!
A nova called T Coronae Borealis erupts every 80 years, and it's due anytime between now and September.
First known to be observed in 1217, by an abbot of the Ursberg Abbey in present-day Germany. He saw a faint star that shone with great light and then returned to its original faintness.
He was witnessing a thermonuclear explosion 3,000 light-years away, where a white dwarf devours matter from a nearby red giant star, and then erupts when it gets full.
The red giant snows hydrogen on the white dwarf's surface, which heats up and eventually ignites, sparking a chain reaction.
Novae can repeatedly and catastrophically erupt, enriching their celestial surroundings with the elements needed for life, such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and could be one of the main producers of lithium.
When it does burst, it will be visible for several days.
The Corona Borealis constellation can be found next to Hercules.
As I will be off tomorrow for another camp. :-)
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