Will the Blaze Star explode in 2026? How to see it

Have you ever heard of the Blaze Star? It’s a star in the constellation Corona Borealis the Northern Crown, called T Corona Borealis (T CrB) or “T Cor Bor.” It was supposed to go nova last year. And we’re still waiting. But when it finally does erupt, it’ll be a once-in-a-lifetime show in our night sky. The eagerly awaited Blaze Star nova is a real opportunity for keen night sky observers to witness a “new star” in the sky … but only for a few days before it fades away again. The trick will be to locate the right place in the sky now. You’ll be looking for the distinctive, C-shaped constellation Corona Borealis. After you find it, go back outside and find that constellation every so often, so you don’t lose track of it. Then, when you hear the Blaze Star has erupted, you’ll be poised to see something fun! So keep reading to learn why we’re still waiting on the Blaze Star, and about how you can see when the nova finally does erupt. Once its brightness peaks, the nova should be visible to the unaided eye for several days and just over a week with binoculars before it dims again, possibly for decades. Corona Borealis is almost, but not quite, circumpolar from mid-northern latitudes. So it’s not visible all year round for most northern observers. Instead, northern spring is the best time to start looking for this easy-to-find constellation. No matter where you are on the globe, the constellation looks like a letter C. It’s ascending in the east on May evenings. No matter where you are, you’ll find Corona Borealis approximately on a line between the bright stars Arcturus and Vega. And Corona Borealis is next to another famous star pattern for those with dark skies. It’s the squarish 4-star pattern of the Keystone in Hercules. Did you hear those words dark sky? You can see the bright stars Arcturus and Vega from inside cities. But you need a dark sky to pick out the Keystone in Hercules and Corona Borealis. Visit EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze. Ready? Now look east on a May evening to find Corona Borealis rising. By Northern Hemisphere summer, all of these stars and constellations will be high in your sky. You’ll be looking up, not east, to see them. Do you need binoculars? No. You don’t need them. But binoculars are always a good idea. Want an exact view from an exact time or your exact location on the globe? Try Stellarium. Via Daniel Gaussen, Founder & Guide – Stargaze Mackenzie – New Zealand We all live under the same sky. But Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres see the sky from different perspectives. And remember how we said that Corona Borealis was almost – but not quite – circumpolar? That means it’s far to the north on the sky’s dome. From deep in the Southern Hemisphere – for example, the latitude of New Zealand and southern Australia – Corona Borealis rises to only around 20 to 25 degrees above the northern horizon at its highest. So, in addition to a dark sky, you’ll also want a clear view to the north. Look north to northeast for a delicate semicircle or backward C shape of stars between the bright orange star Arcturus and the bright blue-white star Vega. The famous Keystone pattern in Hercules is also between these two, right next to Corona Borealis. Want an exact view from an exact time or your exact location on the globe? Try Stellarium. T Coronae Borealis – called “T Cor Bor” by many – is located about 3,000 light-years from Earth. It’s a double star system, consisting of a large cool star and a smaller hot star, which orbit each other every 228 days. This system is what’s called a recurring nova. It’s not a supernova or star that blows itself to bits. Novas operate differently from supernovas. They survive to brighten again. T Cor Bor has outbursts about every 80 years. Its last outburst was in 1946. That’s why astronomers believe another outburst will occur soon. Will we see it in 2026? What makes the nova erupt? The cool star in the T Corona Borealis system is a swollen red giant. It continually transfers material to its companion in the system, the hot star. The hot star is a white dwarf, surrounded by an accretion disk made of material transferred over from the other star. All of this is hidden inside a dense cloud of material from the red giant. When the system is quiescent, the red giant dominates the visible light output of the entire system. So the system appears as an M3 giant. But during outbursts, the transfer of material from the red giant to the hot white dwarf increases greatly. The hot star then expands. And the luminosity of the system increases. Voila. We have a nova. Astronomers have been waiting several years for the Blaze Star to erupt. One recent prediction came from Jean Schneider of the Paris Observatory, publishing in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society in October 2024. He pinpointed possible dates of March 27, 2025, and November 10, 2025. Those dates have come and gone with no big kablooey. Schneider came to his possible dates using a combination of the previous eruption dates and the orbital ephemeris of the binary system. But Schneider admits in his paper that no one can exactly predict the eruption. And, clearly, predicting eruptions of stars isn’t an exact science. The Blaze Star (T Coronae Borealis) underwent two known eruptions recorded by astronomers. Those events were on May 12, 1866, and on February 9, 1946. Those eruptions were 80 years apart. So scientists thought that, in another 80 years, the star would erupt again. Eighty years from 1946 would be 2026. And so we wait … How bright will it get in our sky? Astronomers expect it to reach an apparent magnitude of 2. That’s a respectable brightness for a star. It’s conveniently comparable to the brightest star in the Northern Crown, the Jewel of the Crown, Alphecca. So, for a few days, the Northern Crown will have two jewels! T Corona Borealis – the Blaze Star – is also one of the most distant stars you’ll ever see. Alphecca is around 75 light-years away, while the Blaze Star is closer to 3,000 light-years away. So that gives you some perspective on the absolute magnitude (brightness) of this enormous blast. The actual explosion of the Blaze Star nova will likely dwarf any explosion you’ll ever see. But the star is far away. This explosion has travelled 3,000 years to get here. So, in relative terms the nova will have happened during the Bronze Age. Remember that, when viewing Alphecca and T Corona Borealis side-by-side with approximately the same brightness. The nova is 40 times farther away than Alphecca. Also, we are not seeing the two stars at the same moment in time. One we see as it was 75 years ago. And the other we see as it was 3,000 years ago. It can be hard to get your head around that! The nova will brighten the star by thousands of times, typically over just a few hours, and then take some days to fade away again. When it’s done, it will go back to its normal appearance … which means we won’t be able to see it anymore, with the eye alone. So erupt already! Want more? Here’s a highly regarded lecture by one of the world’s experts on the Blaze Star, LSU astronomer Bradley Schaefer. He discusses T CrB’s history, research into its unusual behavior, and the expected details of its imminent eruption. He also detailed specific ways for amateur astronomers to contribute to the study of this historic event, before answering a wide assortment of audience questions. Watch in the player above or on YouTube. Bottom line: We’re still waiting for the Blaze Star to go nova! Will it happen in 2026? Here’s how to find Corona Borealis so you’re ready when this star goes kablooey. Source: When will the Next T CrB Eruption Occur? Read more: Want more details on the Northern Crown? Click here The post Will the Blaze Star explode in 2026? How to see it first appeared on EarthSky.