Scientist and stargazers worldwide are watching for a distant explosion in the heavens this fall.
Harry S. Truman was in the White House the last time this celestial event occurred – the Blaze Star appeared in 1946 after a white dwarf star pulled in the solar material from a neighboring red giant.
The result was an explosion and a new starlike light in the sky that was seen by the naked eye. Jeffrey Kassoff with the Salina Astronomy Club joined in on the KSAL Morning News to explain the magnitude of the blast.
Kassoff notes that astronomers have been observing this explosive cycle over the past 800 years on a 78-year pattern. The nova or Blaze Star will occur in the Corona Borealis constellation near the Hercules constellation and will be visible to the naked eye for only a short number of days.
Members of the Salina Astronomy Club will be sharing more about the Blaze Star at their upcoming Fall Star Party on Friday, September 6th. Kassoff says everyone is invited to the Land Institute, located at 2440 E. Water Well Road to use special solar filtered telescopes and then observe deep sky objects later in the evening.
The event begins at 5:30pm and will end at 10pm weather permitting. Learn more online at salina-astronomy.com
