STELLAR OUTBURST

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21946, 14 February 1946, Page 6

STELLAR OUTBURST

PHENOMENON REPEATED NEW YORK. Feb. 10. An announcement from Harvard Observatory requests astronomers throughout the world to observe the star T Coronae Borealis, which burst out early yesterday into a brilliance making it 1000 times brighter than a week ago. This phenomenon, which previously occurred in 1800. make s .the star a member of the rare class called recurrent movae. The star referred to first came into prominence by a spectacular outburst of luminosity in 1800, then relapsed into its normal condition of faintness. It Isas been visible since then only through telescopes. The director of the Carter Observatory, Mr. I. M. Thomsen, commenting on Coronae Borealis, said that the star was not very well placed for observation in New Zealand, because it rises a.t present about 2.80 a.m. in .the northeast and does not reach the meridian by the time of sunrise. ‘lt is doubtful if detailed observation will be made at the Carter Observatory owing to transport difficulties at that hour, as well as weather uncertainties,” he said. •‘The thick haze hinders ’ accurate measurements.” Amateur astronomers, however, might be able to make simple observations of the brightness, which would keep the observatory informed of the star’s behaviour. Mr Thomson said yesterday that the star had a magnitude now of about two. Observations about 8 a.m. yesterday failed to show any bright star in the region of Coronae Borealis. This might be because the star was fading very rapidly. Mr R. C. Hayes, acting director of the Dominion Observatory, who was on watch on Tuesday, failed to find any noticeable' bright stars that were not well known.