What, really?  See a star explode – go Nova or Supernova?  But aren’t those completely unpredictable?  How can we know when to look?
Like so much else that science shows us, it’s complicated.  The upshot is that some are very predictable, and brightest predictable one in the entire night sky in your lifetime is expected to explode before Samhain this year – literally any day now.  Here’s how to see it.

Update!

While it hasn’t exploded yet,  Spaceweather.com has added a handy monitor on their webpage to see if it is going on yet – check it out!

The Basics

While a supernova is caused the core collapse of a star (and it’s timing is not precisely predictable), and is the end of a star’s life, a nova explosion can be very different (see artist’s movie, here).  Novas can be periodic, and this one happens every 80 years (more details on all of this is below).  Scientists can tell when it’s about to explode due to it’s current brightness, and with the drop in brightness that just happened, they have predicted that this star (named T Corona Borealis) will explode sometime between now and September.  It’s currently far too dim to see, but when it explodes, it will shoot to being as bright as most of the brighter stars in the sky for just a few days, then will crash down to it’s normal dimness until the year 2104.  It’s much brighter than any other known periodic nova, so this is your only chance in your life to see a nova explosion!  How?  See below.

To See it, You Need to Prepare Now

To find where the nova will be will take a little practice, so be sure to find the location ahead of time, like this week or such.  The nova could start any time, and leaving it to the last minute to try out finding the location, when you’ll only have a couple days (or less, depending on the weather, and the peak brightness is only a matter of hours long) is a good way to miss the nova.

There are a few main ways to find the location of the nova in the sky, and for all of them, you’ll need a sufficiently dark sky.  How dark?  Is it dark enough where you are?  The easy way to tell is to check on this light pollution map.  It doesn’t have to be very dark – any place that is orange, yellow, green, blue, or darker on this map is fine – basically away from big city lights.  Also, it’s very helpful to have a bright green laser pointer to point out the nova to anyone with you.  A green laser pointer makes a visible line pointing far into the sky – you can order yours now (less than $10!) and it’ll probably (!) arrive in time for the nova (here are some).  If you don’t already have one to point out stars, you should get one anyway – it’s standard equipment for Naturalistic Pagans.  And, so very importantly – can you share this with a younger person, especially a child?  Can you make this experience last beyond your own lifetime?

Here are some ways to find the location of T Corona Borealis.  Use what works for you.

1. A star map phone app – here’s a list of the best ones.
2.  An online star map – here are two good ones.

3. Youtube videos (Here’s one, you may find others you like better with a simple search like “how to find t corona borealis nova”)
4.  Webpages such as Astronomy’s post on this.  (Again, a simple search like “how to find t corona borealis nova” can find others)
5.  My approach (below)
6.  Bring a friend who’s already familiar with the night sky to point Corona Borealis out to you.

I find this 5 Step Approach to be Useful

My approach is based on using the brightest stars in the sky to first get oriented, and then to narrow down the location.  Enlarge the figures as needed.

Step 1:   Start by facing North outside on a clear night in a sufficiently dark area (described above), and then finding the big dipper (Figure 1).

Step 2:  Use the Big Dipper to find the bright star Arcturus.  To do so, follow the “arc” of the big dipper’s handle away from the bowl of the big dipper to Arcturus (Figure 2).  Arcturus is much brighter than any other star around it.

Step 3:  Use the Big Dipper to find the bright star Vega.  To do so, imagine a line from the bottom left corner of the big dipper’s bowl away from the bowl through the middle of the handle to Vega (Figure 3).  Vega is much brighter than any other star around it.

Step 4:  Use bright stars Arcturus and Vega to find the constellation Corona Borealis (the Northern Crown”).  To do so, look between Vega and Arcturus to see the square of Hercules and the bowl (Corona Borealis – Figure 4).  The stars making up the square and Corona Borealis are not as bright as Arcturus and Vega.

Step 5:  Looking at Corona Borealis (it’s like a bowl), look to the lower left, just outside the bowl (yellow dot on Figure 5).  You won’t be able to see the star (T Cor Bor) until it goes nova (it’s magnitude 10 – very dim now), but when it goes nova it will be as bright as the bright star at the bottom of the bowl of Corona Borealis.  Now you are ready for when the nova happens!

A few Details

OK, but how is this periodic?  Isn’t the star destroyed? Supernovas are hard to predict, right?  For instance, Betegeuse is expected to go supernova “soon” – sometime in the next 300,000 years.

No. When  a white dwarf star is in close orbit with a red giant, the material coming off the red giant (mostly hydrogen) gets pulled onto the white dwarf, where it accumulates.  When it reaches enough mass, a thermonuclear explosion occurs – a nova.  This doesn’t destroy the white dwarf, which then begins accumulating material again.  Because the rate of material gained is constant, this gives a periodic cycle, producing a series of novas over time.  These aren’t very common.  There are only about 10 of these known, and all of them are still to dim to see very well even when they go nova.  T Corona Borealis is the only biggest we know of, and with an 80 year cycle, this is literally a once in a lifetime experience.  Here are all the others we know of (table near the end of the post).  More details likely in later posts, but this post needs to get out right away – the nova could happen any day now.

Will you Open a Nova Portal?

Another important (and somewhat confusing) fact – T Corona Borealis is 2,627 light years away from us.  That means that the light of this nova is already well on it’s way here, and will only reach us in the next few months.  The nova we are about to see actually already happened  2,627 year ago.  Wow!  Can you imagine this?  That this happened during the reign of Saite ruler Psamtik I in Egypt?  That this nova we are about to see actually happened during the ancient Zhou Dynasty of China?  What was life like in 603 BCE – in various locations on Earth? You could use a ritual to open a Nova Portal – similar to Eclipse portals (see ritual method here), to this time 2,627 years ago when this nova happened, or use the 80 year cycle to open a portal to 1946, 1866, 1786, 1706, 1626, 1546, 1466, 1386, 1306, 1226, 1226, 1146, 1066, 986, 906, 826, 746, 666  ; ) , 586, 506, etc.!

A Nova Ritual, Including charging items with Nova Energy

It’s wonderful that in Paganism, we can make a ritual to fit ourselves – or use ready made rituals, with only minor changes, or anything in between.  Here’s a ritual for the nova, ready to go.

Set up your altar, with a white altar cloth, quarter cauldrons (typical cauldron contents include incense or a feather for East, a candle for South, a seashell or water for West, and a rock or earth for North, many of these on a bed of sand) , and items to be charged by the nova light.  You may want to mark the wider ritual circle with a stone at each quarter (and perhaps each cross-quarter).  Additional white stones around the center area or around the outer perimeter can be added as well to highlight (and literally reflect!) the nova light.  Being that this ritual is likely at night, glow in the dark objects/stones (here are some) can add extra atmosphere.

Enter the circle and approach the altar from the Northeast or Northwest direction (the nova is in the Northern sky).  Clear you mind of distractions, and focus on this place, this time.

Lift the East cauldron (these directions can be done by one celebrant or by separate celebrants).

 

Spirit of the North, spirit of the darkness, of potential and of the hibernating nova, join us in our circle today.  Welcome earth!  Carry the North cauldron clockwise around the circle and return it to the altar.   Hail and welcome!

 

Spirit of the East, spirit of the growing nova light, of air and inspiration, join us in our circle today.  Welcome air!  Carry the East cauldron clockwise around the circle and return it to the altar.   Hail and welcome!

 

Spirit of the South, spirit of the blazing nova, of fire and passion, join us in our circle today.  Welcome fire!  Carry the South cauldron clockwise around the circle and return it to the altar.   Hail and welcome!

 

Spirit of the West, spirit waning nova, of the oceans, of water and cleansing, join us in our circle today.  Welcome water!  Carry the West cauldron clockwise around the circle and return it to the altar.   Hail and welcome!

 

(the order of the directions was chosen to bracket the nova direction to the North)

 

In this sacred time, in this place marked by the Moon and Sun, we reach back to touch all those who have seen an eclipse, we feel their wonder, terror, and their very lives.  Many of them are our Ancestors in body or spirit.  We join them in memory – may this eclipse connect us to them as it connects us to our Universe.

 

(you may want to add this location observation as well, especially if it fits with any nova portal  you are opening.)

 

We come here in reunion with those who have deeper roots in this place – those trees, rocks, creatures and others who call this home, this small piece of the Earth, part of the planet that is home to us all.  May we bless them for their hospitality.  We thank them for this chance to meet them and to share this nova.

 

We welcome the nova light, washing over us and so many people now.  May it’s light infuse these items, calling to mind this gift from the Universe for years to come.  

(add whatever else you’d like here, perhaps something for each family member, perhaps an offering or sharing.)

Charging Objects

I’ll be charging several things.  These include ritual items like my Cosmala, Anishinaabe abalone censer, Venus of Lespugue, beads for the Cosmalas of others, and perhaps my Nebra Disk or ritual staff.  I’ll also charge a jar of salt – this will allow me to charge other items in the future.  I’ll charge things by dissolving a pinch of the salt in any water, and then sprinkling that water on the item (or myself by taking a sip) – so this whole jar will last years or decades.  When talking about the salt idea with my family (for a past eclipse), my son pointed out that the path of the eclipse will charge billions of liters of nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere, which will then circulate worldwide within weeks, so every breath, every breeze, will contain at least some of those eclipse (and now nova) charged molecules.  In fact, the air we just inhaled is already charged with the energy of a nova, due to the millions of novas that have already happened!  Yes, I agree with him that this is all true (and that nothing is actually, physically different upon charging – that it’s all in our minds), but that I was still going to charge things with this nova.

When ready (especially if you’d added a guided meditation/nova portal, etc.), then complete the ritual using the directions below.

Spirit of the East, spirit of the growing nova light, of air and inspiration, we thank you for your presence here today.  Go if you must, stay if you will. 

 

Spirit of the South, spirit of the blazing nova, of fire and passion, we thank you for your presence here today.  Go if you must, stay if you will. 

 

Spirit of the West, spirit waning nova, of the oceans, of water and cleansing, we thank you for your presence here today.  Go if you must, stay if you will. 

 

Spirit of the North, spirit of the darkness, of potential and of the hibernating nova,we thank you for your presence here today.  Go if you must, stay if you will. 

 

(the order of the directions was chosen to end with the nova direction to the North)

The circle is open, but never broken.  May the peace of the Goddess be forever in your heart.

A Scientific Age?

As alluded to before, if our Overculture valued the real Universe which we are one part of instead of fabricated stories, status symbols, and conspicuous consumption, then this whole post wouldn’t even be a topic to discuss.  The biggest predictable nova in our lifetimes would be headline news from all the news sources, and the topic of hit music, movies, and more.  As can be seen in this list of all the recurring novae, all of them are too dim to see (magnitude >4), so this is the one to see. But that’s not the world we live in.  It’s up to people like us to build a reality based culture of wonder and joy, one which Dr. Richard Feynman also could foresee when he said:

“Is no one inspired by our present picture of the universe? This value of science remains unsung by singers: you are reduced to hearing not a song or poem, but an evening lecture about it. This is not yet a scientific age.”

As pointed out before, here, we have a long way to go, but we are taking the first steps.