New star in the sky in 2023

[guitar_villain]

Resident astro geek here- really neat prediction that we might have a new star for a little while in the constellation Cygnus in 2023.

KIC 9832227 is a contact binary- two stars orbiting so closely they are distorted into egg shapes that overlap.  Over time these type of systems spiral down into each other, and when they fuse they create a very bright nova.  (Not a supernova)   We have seen this happen with previous contact binaries, but we don't have a good idea when it's going to happen- astronomical events are usually "In the next hundred thousand years sometime"

In this case thought, there was a very similar system,  V1309 Scorpii, that blew in 2008.  We have detailed observations of the light curve from V1309 for about 7 years before that, and so astronomers can lay the current light curve from KIC 9832227 on top of  it and see how far along it is.  If everything works, it will blow in 2023.

If it does. it will be instantly obvious- it will be about 2nd magnitude, which will make it the second brightest star in Cygus behind Deneb and will be easily visible to the naked eye even in light polluted areas.  Won't last all that long, but should be really neat to see

I'll leave any religious significance of new stars to the fundies though.  I'm sure they'll have some commentary that's far less interesting than the reality.

[EmainMacha]

When you say won't last long are we talking minutes or days?

Sometimes I hate living in London purely because I can't see the stars. At home we used to drive out into the country and just sit and look up. I'd have to drive a long way to get away from the light pollution here:(

[Audrey2]

On 1/7/2017 at 3:42 PM, EmainMacha said:

When you say won't last long are we talking minutes or days?

Sometimes I hate living in London purely because I can't see the stars. At home we used to drive out into the country and just sit and look up. I'd have to drive a long way to get away from the light pollution here:(

One thing I do envy you, since you live in London, was your ability to watch The Sky at Night, with Sir Patrick Moore. I really liked his hosting the show. Sadly, we lost him a few years ago, and our skies have been darker.

[princessmahina]

Ooh that sounds exciting. I love going stargazing, even if I don't know most of the names of the things I'm looking at. 

[EmainMacha]

4 hours ago, Audrey2 said:

One thing I do envy you, since you live in London, was your ability to watch The Sky at Night, with Sir Patrick Moore. I really liked his hosting the show. Sadly, we lost him a few years ago, and our skies have been darker.

He lived for a while in my hometown as well. The stars and planets are a big thing in my neck of the woods in N Ireland.

He was quite the character wasn't he? Funny how he could make a show shoved into that late night slot still eminently watchable.

[LadyCrow1313]

19 hours ago, princessmahina said:

Ooh that sounds exciting. I love going stargazing, even if I don't know most of the names of the things I'm looking at. 

Me too! I took an astronomy class in college, but was an idiot & didn't really pay that much attention. (Sometimes I'd like to go back in time & kick myself in the ass for some of the stupid things I did.) I do remember a few things (ie, Cassiopeia, Taurus, Orion, big/little dippers), but I wish I remembered more of the star names.

On a cool side note, I was leaving a local shopping plaza on NYE eve after work (this was around 5:30ish or so pm), & I saw a shooting star. Seeing things like that always gets me jazzed, especially when it's in an unexpected area (ie, heavily populated/lots of light pollution).

[47of74]

2 hours ago, LadyCrow1313 said:

Me too! I took an astronomy class in college, but was an idiot & didn't really pay that much attention. (Sometimes I'd like to go back in time & kick myself in the ass for some of the stupid things I did.) I do remember a few things (ie, Cassiopeia, Taurus, Orion, big/little dippers), but I wish I remembered more of the star names.

On a cool side note, I was leaving a local shopping plaza on NYE eve after work (this was around 5:30ish or so pm), & I saw a shooting star. Seeing things like that always gets me jazzed, especially when it's in an unexpected area (ie, heavily populated/lots of light pollution).

Yeah I took the introductory class myself back in my community college days - over 20 years ago, and we learned about things like apparent brightness and absolute magnitude.  I do remember that I did OK in the course, but that's about all I can remember off hand.

[catlady]

i never took an astronomy class, but i have a smallish telescope that gives a good view of the moon.  i'd love to take an adult-ed class someday.

i can never pick out the constellations; the only configurations i can recognize are the Big Dipper and Orion's belt.  but it's still fun to look.

[47of74]

3 hours ago, catlady said:

i never took an astronomy class, but i have a smallish telescope that gives a good view of the moon.  i'd love to take an adult-ed class someday.

i can never pick out the constellations; the only configurations i can recognize are the Big Dipper and Orion's belt.  but it's still fun to look.

Wait, that constellation looks like a giant.....Woody, what the hell is that?  It looks like a giant...Penis!  The male reproductive organ!  Also known as a schlong, tallywhacker a...Wang, pay attention!

[cindyluvs24]

I also love astronomy.  I wish I had the math background to take classes in college.