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How Long Will We See The Nova?
To predict the duration of a nova's visibility, astronomers look to its past light curve for guidance. The recurring nova T Coronae Borealis is one of only two such "new" stars known to be visible to the naked eye. Every 80 or so years the faint star system erupts, with the last event occurring in 1946. When it explodes anew as anticipated, observers will have a short window to find clear skies. In 1946, February opened with the star at visual magnitude equal to 10. The
16 hours ago3 min read
Poster: Witness a Nova
For the 2026 Great Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA) Annual Conference I presented a poster titled Witness a Nova. Images and text encourage planetariums to guide visitors in finding Corona Borealis under the dome and to invite visitors to photograph the planetarium starfield in anticipation of a rare, visible nova. Witness a Nova poster for the 2026 GLPA Conference.. Within the constellation Corona Borealis is a now-unseen binary star that erupts every 80-or-so years, br
17 hours ago1 min read
Get Goofy on Halloween With Pumpkinova
Make your pumpkin carving task easy this year by depicting the constellation Corona Borealis, site of an anticipated recurring nova. When people ask, you can share the spooky story of a white dwarf star canabalizing a red giant star until it pukes. Or describe it in less caustic terms. Clean the guts out of the pumpkin and set them aside. Print the template for different sized pumpkins. Cut away larger Northern Crowns if necessary so you can tape the correct size that fi
Oct 91 min read
Astronomy@250: Anniversary Stars Inspire Observing
For the Astronomy@250 conference I embrace Anniversary Stars as a launchpad to get people to explore the night sky. My poster invites readers to pair a signature star with a milestone event, citing Spica as the US Semiquincentennial Star at 250 light years away. Related content encourages preserving the night sky that inspired stars on the US flag, as resolved by the Second Continental Congress in the country's inaugural year. It also encourages the public to use their cell
Aug 202 min read
500 Clear-Enough Nights
Five hundred clear-enough nights of the constellation Corona Boreails captured with a cell phone camera reveal seasonal patterns in 45 seconds. As you await the recurring nova, get your "before" image now for comparison of the starfield immediately after the nova erupts.
Aug 91 min read
Fireworks Prelude
The night of July fireworks, as the crowd gathers and darkness settles in, eyes are looking skyward in anticipation of a spectacle. Appropriately, America’s Semiquincentennial Star is among the first to appear in the deepening twilight. The day our founders were signing the Declaration of Independence, light left the star Spica in the constellation Virgo. Traveling at 186,000 miles per second, those photons are just now striking our retinas, for Spica is 250 light years a
Jun 222 min read
Paper Suggests Longer Wait For Nova Eruption. Oh, Well.
"Ruh-roh", as George Jetson's dog Astro would say. The observing campaign to witness a recurring nova erupt after an 80-year hiatus may be longer than anticipated. The new analysis of known previous events suggests accreted mass around the star T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) is likely to blow up closer to the first half of 2027, centered around March 25. In early 2024, astronomers observed a "pre-eruption dip" in the brightness of the star T Coronae Borealis, a precursor of the
Jun 212 min read
Nova Watch In Summer 2026
Each day brings us closer to an anticipated recurring nova visible to the naked eye, and warm summer nights provide a great observing opportunity. Now all we need is for the darned thing to blow up. Here's how to find this "new" star before, during, and after it erupts. Summer offers multiple ways to star hop to the target in the constellation Corona Borealis (CrB). Find and photograph the U-shaped Northern Crown beforehand so you'll have a comparison starfield when the nov
Jun 191 min read
My Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (UAP)
I witnessed and recorded an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) on April 21, 2026. In its independent 2022 study NASA defines UAPs as "observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena." While it may be known to someone, the apparition is unknown to me. Absent an established reporting system, I volunteer this example merely as a scientific data point in the spirit of their "effort to better understand the nature and orig
May 113 min read
Use the Moon to Find America's Semiquincentennial Star
While stars and stripes will be prominent during America's 250th Anniversary celebration, one star in the night sky has special significance. Shining brightly at 250 light years away, Spica is America's Semiquincentennial Star . Light that left Spica in 1776--traveling at 186,000 miles per second --is just now reaching our eyes. For a visceral Semiquincentennial experience in 2026, find Spica, then contemplate your and America's place in the firmament. To find Spica, follo
Mar 72 min read
