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Now in the national news.
Michael Woodman was interviewed on the BBC World Service news this morning about his discovery of the 1946 eruption of T CrB.
I have invited him to attend the January BAA meeting to receive the Charles Butterworth award of the VSS.
An A&A preprint on ArXiv today discusses the recent super-active phase SAP of T CrB.
The SAP lasted between 2015 and 2023, during which T was about three-quarters of a magnitude brighter than normal. A similar SAP was observed prior to the 1946 eruption.
The authors find that the SAP was triggered in the inner part of the accretion disc, increasing the disc temperature and the mass accretion rate at the white dwarf surface. The higher temperature should have further enhanced the mass transfer and sustained the SAP.
The SAP abruptly stopped in 2023, implying that the disc has returned to a quiet phase. At this time accretion dropped to a very low level. Recently T has been gradually brightening again and accretion has picked up. Note that when sufficient material has accumulated on the surface of the white dwarf, it triggers the thermonuclear runaway that appears as a nova eruption.
Michael Woodman, who independently discovered the 1946 eruption of T CrB as a 15-year old schoolboy in 1946, was guest of honour at the BAA meeting on January 18. He was presented with the BAA VSS Charles Butterworth Award.
Many thanks to all those present who helped to make it as special day for Michael and his family.
A photo of Michael (taken by Philip Jennings) is attached.
Attachments:
Jeremy,
It was very pleasing that Michael and his family could attend the meeting on Saturday, and I saw how much they enjoyed your presentation – ‘British Independent Discoveries of the 1946 Eruption of T Coronae Borealis’.
Alex.
It was fantastic to see Michael Woodman in person, and really great that many members of his family were able to attend the presentation of his Butterworth Award.
In answer to a question following my talk on T CrB, I mentioned that some had predicted that the neutrino burst from the eruption might just be detectable on Earth. However, a pre-print on ArXiv today suggests that the burst might actually be too weak for such a detection.
As ever, time will tell.
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