The professor of the University of Calvin (USA), Larry Molnar, together with experts from the Apache Point Observatory (Karen Kinemuchi) and the University of Wyoming (Henry Kobulnicky) have predicted a temporary change in the night sky that will be visible to the naked eye. It will be in 2022 and, according to Molnar, “ there is a one in a million chance of being able to predict an explosion like this. It has never been done before.”
Molnar’s prediction is based on the fact that a binary star (two stars orbiting each other) that is being monitored will merge and explode in 2022, at which point the star will brighten 10,000 times , becoming one of the brightest stars in the world. heaven for a while, probably about a year. This star will be visible as part of the constellation Swan , and will add a star to the recognizable star pattern of the Northern Cross.
“The project is significant not only because of the scientific results, but also because it is likely to capture the imagination of the people on the street. If the prediction is correct, then for the first time in history, parents will be able to make a point. dark in the sky and say, look, kids, there is a hidden star there, but it will soon turn on, “says Matt Walhout, dean of Calvin College.
Tracking of the star known as KIC 9832227 began in 2013. The next step will be to spend the entire next year examining the star at all wavelengths. If Molnar is correct in his prediction, we have a cosmic spectacle like no other, scheduled for five years from now and it will be the first time that a group of astronomers manages to capture the moment when the two members of a binary star system merge and what happens the years leading up to the Big Bang.
