Week of June 21-27, 2026

OK, let's try this one more time.

Back in 2024, I wrote (twice) about a "new" star that was expected to burst forth in our night sky.

The star, you may recall, is called T Corona Borealis — aka the "Blaze Star" — and it was expected to change the appearance of this constellation (the Northern Crown) for a few days.

Despite our excitement, it never showed up. And if you've been patiently watching that constellation for it to appear ... well, you're probably wondering what happened to it. You're not alone; astronomers are wondering the same thing.

Such a new star appearing out of nowhere is not common, of course, but it does happen occasionally. Ancient skywatchers called such a phenomenon a "nova," a word that comes from the Latin "novus," meaning "new." As it turns out, however, a nova is anything but new.

Such an eruption is the result of a pair of stars orbiting one another. One pulls hydrogen onto itself from the other, and when this accumulates, its surface heats up and triggers a thermonuclear explosion. Such a blast can cause the star to become tens of thousands of times brighter for a short time, and if it's near enough, it might just appear as a "new" star in our night sky.

Nova T CrB (the CrB refers to the constellation name) is what is known as a recurrent nova, a star that can explode more than once during its lifetime. This star's eruptions have been documented as far back as October of 1217, when the Abbot of the Ursberg Abbey recorded it from what is now known as Germany. Its most recent appearances came in 1866 and 1946.

From history, astronomers figure that T CrB erupts on average about every 80 years, and that would mean its next outburst would come in 2026. So why did we get so excited two years ago? Because astronomers found clues that it might flare up early, and we all began our watch at that time. The problem is that we just don't know enough about these stars to make accurate forecasts.

So here we are in June of 2026, still waiting. The latest prediction is that it may erupt around June 25, so we begin our watch once again. To do so, use the accompanying sky map to find Corona Borealis in the current night sky.

Face east, and look straight overhead (the "zenith"). On the northern side of the zenith (left), you'll see the Big Dipper. On the southern side (right), you'll see the bright yellow-orange star Arcturus. Below these two (more toward the east) lies a tiny semicircle of stars that outlines the Northern Crown. It is in this star grouping that the "Blaze Star" should appear, perhaps becoming as bright as the constellation's main star Alphecca, before fading from view.

Will Nova T CrB finally brighten this summer? We don't know, but astronomers are paying attention because either way, we'll learn something valuable about this star.

So now we watch and wait ... again. If it doesn't erupt this June, the next prediction is for around Feb. 8, 2027.

Or not.

T Corona Borealis is predicted to go nova on or around June 25.

Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

T Corona Borealis is predicted to go nova on or around June 25.