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Rare red nova explosion could add a star to the sky in 2022
There is much still to learn about the universe, and red novas remain one of its mysteries. It's thought these explosive events, named for their red glow, are the result of binary stars finally merging after eons of cosmic courting. That's the prevailing theory, anyway, but the rare event has only been observed a handful of times. Our understanding of this stellar event, as well as the lifecycle of stars in general, could improve significantly if the prediction of Calvin College astronomer Larry Molnar proves true. He believes he's spotted a duo of stars that are on the cusp of merging, becoming a red nova in 2022, "give or take a year." It's not just exciting for the research community, though, as the explosion should be so energetic that we'll be able to see it in the night sky with the naked eye.
