In what’s being billed as a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event, a star in the Corona Borealis constellation could explode on Thursday — and be visible to the naked eye.

The so-called “Blaze Star,” T Coronae Borealis, goes nova once about every 80 years. The last time this “recurrent nova” was observed was in 1946, Forbes reported last week.

Scientists report that the star appears headed for eruption on March 27.

If it does explode, it is expected to be visible for a few nights afterward — a bright spot in the sky that will look similar to the North Star.

Will you be able to see it?

“Corona Borealis will rise in the eastern sky about three hours after sunset,” according to Space.com. “It will become easily visible around four hours after sunset.”

In western Oregon, clouds and showers are currently expected to return by Thursday — but if the unseasonably warm and dry weather expected on Tuesday and Wednesday were to linger, there could be a chance.

Oregon is home to the largest Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world, as well as two Dark Sky Communities and an official Dark Sky Park — so even if it stays cloudy in the Portland area, dedicated stargazers have several locations where viewing the nova might be possible.

— Julie Evensen covers trending topics and popular culture. She can be reached at [email protected] or @juliecevensen.bsky.social on Bluesky and @julieevensen on Threads.

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