Total Solar Eclipse Isn't the Only Rare Cosmic Event This Year

As April's total solar eclipse approaches, scientists say astrophiles are in for another cosmic treat in coming months. Dubbed by NASA as a "once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity," a rare event in a star system far, far away will cause it to shine brighter than Polaris, the North Star. T Coronae Borealis, located some 3,000 light years away, is a binary system with a red giant star and a white dwarf orbiting each other, per Live Science. They are close enough that once the red giant becomes unstable from increasing temperatures, the dwarf absorbs the outer layers it sheds. This interaction causes a nova outburst about every 80 years, and we're due for one soon.

While scientists cannot pinpoint exactly when it will happen, they say we can expect to glimpse what's typically hidden in the night sky by September. A recurring nova isn't common, and T Coronae Borealis' was last seen in 1946. "Most novae happen unexpectedly, without warning," William J. Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office tells CNN. "However, T Coronae Borealis is one of 10 recurring novae in the galaxy." He says that when it last erupted, the star dimmed for about a year before "rapidly increasing in brightness," and now the process has started again. "T Coronae Borealis began to dim in March of last year," he adds, "so some researchers are expecting it to go nova between now and September." (More stories about NASA.)