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Proper NameBlaze Star
Bayer DesignationNone
Flamsteed NumberNone
HR (BSC)5958
HD143454
Variable DesignationT Coronae Borealis
ConstellationCorona Borealis
Right Ascension15h 59m 30s
Declination+25° 55' 13"
Distancec. 3,000 light years
c. 900 parsecs
MagnitudeApparent: +10.14
Absolute: +0.33
Spectral ClassM3III+p red giant
Optimum VisibilityJune
NotesThis system consists of a red giant orbited by a white dwarf, with the white dwarf gradually drawing matter from the giant star. Periodically, the accretion of mass by the white dwarf will cause it to flare into a brilliant nova, so that periodically this faint tenth-magnitude star will become briefly visible to the naked eye (hence the name 'Blaze Star'). These flares take place over a cycle of approximately eighty years, with the last being observed from 1945 to 1946, and the next is therefore probably due in 2025 or 2026 (the star is already showing fluctuations that typically presage an eruption, so the flare appears to be imminent).

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