Sky & Telescope - March 2024 - 37

66
64
θ
uCOMPARISON STARS Use this pair of charts to locate
and estimate the brightness of the Blaze Star, T Coronae
Borealis. The chart at top is suitable for naked-eye and
binocular use, while the one at bottom is better suited for
making estimates with a telescope when the star is at the
faint end of its brightness range. Note that comparison
star magnitudes are given with their decimal points omitted
(e.g., a 11.2-magnitude star is labeled " 112 " ).
I carefully analyzed the T CrB light curves
from 1866 and 1946 and noted three distinct
phases. First, after it erupted and had returned
to quiescence for more than two months,
it underwent a second outburst, rising to
magnitude 8.0, that lasted for about 100 days.
Second, in the year leading up to the main
eruption, T CrB exhibited a dip of up to two
magnitudes. Third, for the 20 years centered on
the main outburst, T CrB's brightness plateaued
at nearly one magnitude brighter than in its
quiescent state. The light curves for both the
1866 and 1946 eruptions are identical and
exhibit all three phases. These features are
unique to T CrB and so far astrophysicists don't
know the causes.
From 1955 to 2015, T CrB flickered away in
its dimmer state, when it's at a visual magnitude
near 10.3. Then suddenly, in 2015, it brightened
to the plateau level of magnitude 9.8. This is the
same behavior it displayed in 1935 - some 11
years before the 1946 eruption. (It was Italian
astronomer Ulisse Munari who first realized that
this brightening was the harbinger of an upcoming
eruption.) Comparing the most recent light
curve with the 1930's curve predicts an outburst
occurring in 2025.5±1.3, assuming T CrB follows
65
CORONA BOREALIS
50
3
2
4
5
6
7
42
22
ε
38
46
T = Blaze Star
δ
γ
16h 00m
15h 50m
SERPENS CAPUT
15h 40m
+26°
α
Alphecca
R
+28°
ι
+30°
65
37
Nusakan
β
15h 30m
+27°
ε
42
CORONA BOREALIS
6
5
4
7
8
9
10
11
12
84
98
79
106
T
99
112
94
+26°
108
71
SERPENS CAPUT
+25°
16h 04m
16h 00m
15h 56m
Brightening at
start of high state
1905
1915
Year
sk yand tele scope .o r g * MARCH 2024 37
1925
1935
BEATRIZ INGLESSIS / S&T, DATA: AAVSO (2)
Star magnitudes
Star magnitudes

http://skyandtelescope.org

Sky & Telescope - March 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - March 2024

Contents
Sky & Telescope - March 2024 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - March 2024 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - March 2024 - 1
Sky & Telescope - March 2024 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - March 2024 - 3
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