You may have the opportunity to spot a rare explosion in outer space — the rebirth of a star.Related video above: Mini supernova could have a big impact (2015)The unique cosmic event is referred to as a "nova" and will take place in the Corona Borealis constellation, or "The Northern Crown,” which contains a binary star system, meaning a system that holds two stars that are bound to and in orbit around each other. That system is known as "T Coronae Borealis" or T CrB, nicknamed the "Blaze Star," and is nestled around 3,000 light-years from Earth. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, "The system is comprised of a white dwarf – an Earth-sized remnant of a dead star with a mass comparable to that of our Sun – and an ancient red giant slowly being stripped of hydrogen by the relentless gravitational pull of its hungry neighbor."In this binary system, there is a "hot" component — the white dwarf — and a "cool" component — the red giant. The process by which the white dwarf saps hydrogen from the red giant results in a cosmic buildup, causing a thermonuclear reaction, which seems to occur about once every 80 years. And notably, since the system is relatively close to us, you should be able to see it with the naked eye.“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of new astronomers out there, giving young people a cosmic event they can observe for themselves, ask their own questions, and collect their own data,” said Rebekah Hounsell, an assistant research scientist specializing in nova events at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’ll fuel the next generation of scientists.”A nova is a step below a supernova, which is when a star explodes and is destroyed outright. Novae, by comparison, are repeated, short-lived instances of stars exploding while continuing to carry out their cosmic patterns. According to NASA, it is estimated that between 20-50 novae occur each year in our galaxy, but despite their power, most go undiscovered.“There are a few recurrent novae with very short cycles, but typically, we don’t often see a repeated outburst in a human lifetime, and rarely one so relatively close to our own system,” Hounsell said. “It’s incredibly exciting to have this front-row seat.”The first recorded sighting of this particular nova was in the autumn of 1217 — more than 800 years ago — when a man named Burchard, an abbot of Ursberg, Germany, observed “a faint star that for a time shone with great light," wrote NASA.If the nova pattern continues, some researchers say the nova event could occur this summer, or by September 2024.If you are a stargazer, you should find the system in The Northern Crown constellation, which is a horseshoe-shaped curve of stars west of Hercules, located by using the two brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere, Arcturus and Vega, according to NASA.When the system erupts, it should be visible for about a week.“Recurrent novae are unpredictable and contrarian,” said Koji Mukai, a fellow astrophysics researcher at NASA Goddard. “When you think there can’t possibly be a reason they follow a certain set pattern, they do — and as soon as you start to rely on them repeating the same pattern, they deviate from it completely. We’ll see how T CrB behaves.”