Nova Due in a Binary Star System, 3000 Light Years Away

Image credit: Geralt, public domain via Pixabay

It won't be as spectacular as Tycho's Supernova of 1572 or Kepler's Supernova which occurred some decades later and was visible in daylight. However, a seemingly new star will appear in the constellation of Hercules and should be as bright as the North Star. The nova is predicted to happen before September 2024 in a binary system 3000 light years away, made up of a dead white dwarf and ageing red giant. The white dwarf, consisting of "star stuff" so dense that a teaspoon of it would weigh five tonnes, is sucking material off the "nearby" red giant. Every 80 years or so, the the material it accumulates reaches a critical mass and a thermonuclear fusion reaction is sparked off, the star lighting up so that it can be seen from Earth, 18 thousand trillion miles away. In reality, because the star system is 3000 light years away, the event really occurred 3000 years ago, the light taking this length of time to reach us.

This BBC article provides more details.

Move over, solar eclipse: Scientists predict a once-in-a-lifetime nova explosion in the coming months

Ordnance Survey of Ireland Discovery Maps on Scoilnet

This is more geography than science, but I just noticed that the OSI (now Tailte Éireann) Discovery Series, 1:50,000 scale maps are available online on the Scoilnet site. There's also a relief shading layer showing elevation levels. The Discovery Series layer was removed from the OSI's Geohive interactive maps website several years ago. The website is available at this link.

https://maps.scoilnet.ie/OSiMaps/EsriVer17/index.html

Image credit: Ordnance Survey Ireland (Tailte Éireann)

Recommended Books — Sticky

If you like science and physics, Sticky by Irish physicist and science writer Laurie Winkless is a fascinating read. In it, she delves into how glue and friction works, and explores dimples on golf balls, Speedo's shark-skin-inspired Fastskin swimsuits and why geckos can walk on walls! Available to order from Woodbine Books.