We eagerly awaited the explosion of the star T Coronae Borealis, predicted for 2024 by the astronomical community. It didn't go off. The prediction was revised to 2025. And it still didn't explode. What happened?
UNAM Morelia answers this question in the Astronomy Fridays series for the first half of 2026, organized by the Institute of Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics (IRyA). In each session, an IRyA researcher will answer questions submitted by the series' audience about stellar explosions, black holes, life and planets.
On February 27th, Jesús Toalá will present "Novas, Supernovae, and the Stellar Explosion That Didn't Happen in 2024," discussing the catastrophic events that end the lives of stars and why the explosion predicted for 2024 didn't occur.
The talks will be in Spanish and will take place at the UNAM Morelia Cultural Center (Av. Acueducto 19, near Las Tarascas) at 6:00 pm, with free admission for all. No prior registration is required, and weather permitting, we will observe through telescopes after the talk. This February 27th, the Moon and Jupiter are right for observing with the telescopes. We well have surprises for the audience in each session.
On March 27th, Laurent Loinard, also director of the Event Horizon Telescope, will tell us all about black holes in the talk “What are black holes and what do they look like?”; on April 24th, Aina Palau will talk about “The life of planets and life on planets”; and on May 29th, Carlos Carrasco-González will answer the question “How are planets born and what do comets teach us?”, including the famous interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
Live talk on Youtube: Click/Tap or copy-and-paste this link: https://www.youtube.com/@iryaunam/streams
About IRyA, UNAM
The Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica (IRyA), or Institute for Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics is an academic unit at UNAM, Campus Morelia, Mexico. The Institute’s personnel perform high-level and high-impact research in the areas of interstellar medium, star formation, evolved stars, high energy astrophysics, Galactic dynamics and structure, extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. They also contribute to educate high-level human resources through a postgraduate program, and maintain a close relationship with society through diverse outreach and science communication programs.
Media contact:
Dr. René A. Ortega Minakata
Outreach and Science Communication
IRyA UNAM Campus Morelia
Text: René A. Ortega Minakata, IRyA UNAM