T Coronae Borealis, also called the Blaze Star, is actually two stars — a hot, dense white dwarf, and a cooler red giant. Many of their telescopes are designed to look at the faintest and dimmest targets, but the Blaze Star nova will be anything but faint. Once the nova happens, Gattini-IR will go from observing the Blaze Star every couple nights to every couple hours. Some researchers suspect that novas like the Blaze Star could be precursors to supernovas. And with hundreds in the community observing from around the world, they can achieve almost continuous coverage of the Blaze Star.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 29, 2024 20:24 UTC