How the 'Blaze Star,' some 3,000 light-years from Earth, will give naked-eye stargazers...

T Coronae Borealis – otherwise known as the Blaze Star or T CrB – is a binary system situated in the Northern Crown some 3,000 light-years from Earth. The system is comprised of a red giant and a white dwarf – a dead star about the size of Earth. The first recorded sighting of the T CrB nova was in 1217.
Through "relentless gravitational pull," the white dwarf strips hydrogen from the ancient red giant, which causes a buildup of pressure and heat. Once there is a critical level of pressure on the white dwarf, it triggers a massive thermonuclear explosion.
For T CrB, this explosive event reoccurs approximately every 80 years. The last such explosion happened in 1946. Based on observations of T Coronae Borealis, astronomers believe the Blaze Star is getting ready to explode again. The Blaze Star will remain intact after the explosion as opposed to a supernova which is a final explosion that ends a star's lifecycle.