A rare nova ignites a 'new star' in the sky this year. Here's how to see it

A gif showing a bright yellow star moving toward the right of the screen with a disk of matter around it. A poof of white gas blows up toward the left of the disk.

A nova outburst visible to the naked eye is expected to decorate the night sky this year, offering a rare skywatching opportunity. 

The star system offering us this opportunity is known as T Coronae Borealis (T CrB). It's located some 3,000 light-years away from Earth and consists of a red giant star and a white dwarf that orbit each other. When the white dwarf steals enough stellar material from its red giant companion, it ignites a brief flash of nuclear fusion on its surface, triggering what is known as a nova outburst.