Spectacular collision of suns will create new star in night sky in 2022
Sarah Knapton, Science Editor
6 January 2017 • 4:15pm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2...ight-sky-2022/
At the beginning of the 3rd century civil war raged in Britain as the Roman emperor Septimius Severus sought to quell unrest in the north.
But unknown to the fighting cohorts and Caledonian tribes, high above their heads
two stars were coming together in a
huge cataclysmic explosion.
Now 1800 years later the light from that collision will finally arrive on Earth creating a new star in the night sky - dubbed the
‘Boom Star - in an incredibly rare event which is usually only spotted through telescopes.
Before their meeting the two stars were too dim to be seen by the naked eye, but
in 2022, the newly formed Red Nova will
burn so brightly in the constellation Cygnus that
everyone will be able to to see it.
“For the first time in history, parents will be able to point to a dark spot in the sky and say, ‘Watch, kids, there’s a star hiding in there, but soon it’s going to light up,” said Dr Matt Walhout, dean for research and scholarship at Calvin College, Michigan, where the prediction was made.
For around six months the Boom Star will be one of the brightest in the sky before gradually dimming, returning to its normal brightness after around two to three years....
...“The good news for people in the UK is that it is in the constellation Cygnus which is
always above the horizon and is very high in the sky in the summer, so
everyone will be able to see it....
...The forecast was made officially at a press conference on Friday, all the more poignant because it coincided with
the epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the Three Wise Men, who followed
the star to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus.
The binary star system, named KIC9832227, is
1,800 light years away and is made from
two suns which spin around each other every 11 hours....
...
In 2013 Professor Larry Molnar and his team at Calvin College noticed that the orbital speed was decreasing. And doing so faster and faster.
It matched the data from another binary star which exploded in 2008 without warning and was picked up by astronomers. When experts went back over data from previous years they discovered that the crash could have been predicted because of the increasing orbital speeds....
...“Observations of KIC9832227 show its orbital period has been getting faster since 1999 in
the same distinctive way. We arrive at our predicted date by assuming the
same process is happening here," said Prof Molnar, who is professor in astronomy.
“The star is around 1800 light years away. Hence if we are right about the upcoming outburst,
it actually occurred 1795 years ago, and
the light from the outburst has been travelling toward us ever since.
“Explosions of this size occur about once a decade in our Galaxy.
This case is unusual in how close the star is and hence how
bright we will see it shine and unique in that it is the first time anyone has predicted an explosion in advance.
“It’s a one-in-a-million chance that you can predict an explosion. It’s never been done before.”...