For the last seven months, astronomers around the world have been twiddling their thumbs and waiting patiently.

At the end of telescopes, watching NASA’s news feeds, gazing up at the sky night after night; and rest assured, it will be worth the wait.

Because we are overdue a once-in-a-lifetime stellar event that will transfix backyard stargazers and professional astronomers alike.

In a small corner of the sky, specifically in the seven-star constellation known as the ‘Northern Crown’ (or more technically, Corona Borealis) something very special is about to happen.

As NASA reported back in June 2024, we could be about to see a massive nova event – something that only happens every eighty years – in the constellation. And even better, it will be so bright that you won’t even need a telescope to see it.

It is the rareness of this event – and the impressiveness of the sight – that makes the coming nova so exciting.

Furthermore, it is happening very close to the Earth (3,000 light years away) which means that the view we will have is incomparable.

And it has been stunning Earthly audiences for hundreds of years, with the first recorded sighting of the nova in Medieval times. In the years since, the nova has been seen on a recurring cycle: in 1787, 1866, and 1946.

Experts who have been observing the system’s behavior over the past decade are expecting the next nova to occur any time now.

But what exactly is it?

It’s all to do with ‘T Coronae Borealis’ (also known as the ‘Blaze Star’ or ‘T CrB’), a system consisting of a white dwarf and a red giant. It is the relationship between the two that triggers this event every eighty years, as the NASA statement explains:

“The system is comprised of a white dwarf – an Earth-sized remnant of a dead star with a mass comparable to that of our Sun – and an ancient red giant slowly being stripped of hydrogen by the relentless gravitational pull of its hungry neighbor.

The hydrogen from the red giant accretes on the surface of the white dwarf, causing a buildup of pressure and heat. Eventually, it triggers a thermonuclear explosion big enough to blast away that accreted material. For T CrB, that event appears to reoccur, on average, every 80 years.”

So for most of us, this really is our only chance to see the Blaze Star in action.

Events like this one are rare, with those forecast to be this spectacular even more so.

And it’s no wonder that the scientific community are excited: anything that gets the public motivated to participate in science of any kind is a good thing, and the anticipation for this nova is unprecedented. In the NASA statement Dr. Rebekah Hounsell, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, explained how events like this can be lifechanging for some:

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of new astronomers out there, giving young people a cosmic event they can observe for themselves, ask their own questions, and collect their own data. It’ll fuel the next generation of scientists.”

So for those would-be stargazers, young and old alike, NASA have some key advice when it comes to observing the event.

First of all, have patience. Luckily, in 2025 we have a vast array of ways to keep informed: when the Blaze Star is, finally, visible, there’s no doubt that news feeds and social media will be ablaze with information within minutes.

When you do look up at the sky – and you’ve got less than a week’s window to do so – you’ll need a clear night to allow you to see beyond the limits of our own atmosphere. Then, NASA advise tracking down the constellations before homing in on the nova:

“The Northern Crown is a horseshoe-shaped curve of stars west of the Hercules constellation, ideally spotted on clear nights. It can be identified by locating the two brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere – Arcturus and Vega – and tracking a straight line from one to the other, which will lead skywatchers to Hercules and the Corona Borealis.”

With a little understanding of what you’re looking out for, and the luck of a clear night’s sky, the nova should be visible even to the naked eye.

But why have we been waiting so long since the nova first hit the news last June?

Well, because we are dealing with events that are happening thousands of light years away. Space events are relatively predictable, but there is also an element of hope and luck when it comes to spotting these things, as Dr. Koji Mukai from NASA Goddard explained:

“Recurrent novae are unpredictable and contrarian. When you think there can’t possibly be a reason they follow a certain set pattern, they do – and as soon as you start to rely on them repeating the same pattern, they deviate from it completely. We’ll see how T CrB behaves.”

So right now, it’s a cross your fingers and hope for the best kind of scenario.

But scientists are still certain of one thing: the Blaze Star will light up our skies very soon.

If you liked that story, check out this one about a Costco customer who got their cart stolen… so she hatched a plan to get it back!