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 fits onto the respective pumpkin.

Print this template of Corona Borealis outlines for different sized pumpkins.

Use different sized drill bits to depict the different brightnesses of the stars. Remove the paper and connect the lines properly. Draw the approximate location of T CrB. Insert a candle. And voila!

Pumpkin with stellar holes marked and drilled.

Pumpkin with holes depicting constellation Corona Borealis, illuminated by interior candle. Note the actual constellation and a comet in the background sky.

As a bonus pumpkin activity, use a red and a white pumpkin to simulate a binary star like T Coronae Borealis with accreted pumpkin seeds around the dense white star about to "go nova."