Nova in Delphinus August 2013

Enlargement of the image captured from our Backyard
 using a tripod mounted Canon DSLR Camera

A 'Nova' is an unimaginably violent explosion on a white dwarf star which is part of a binary star system.


A white dwarf is a stellar remnant, the leftover core from a main sequence star not sufficiently massive to become a neutron star or black hole when, at the end of its life, it ran out of fusible material.


If the white dwarf is sufficiently close to its binary partner for it to steal hydrogen and helium gas from its surface, fuel for a nuclear explosion builds up.  When the captured hydrogen and helium sitting on the surface of the white dwarf reaches a critical pressure and temperature, 20 million degrees Kelvin, nuclear fusion occurs and the star is seen to brighten as a Nova.




A Nova should not be confused with a Supernova, in a Nova the white dwarf is not destroyed but instead, as viewed from Earth, is seen to brighten and then dim over a period of time.  A white dwarf can Nova a number of times. A supernova is a much rarer event, happening only once at the end of a massive star's life.

Artist's impression of a Binary Star System in which a White Dwarf
 is accreting material from the outer atmosphere of a bloated red star.
(Credit Wikipedia)

Stacked image taken from our Backyard of an area of sky with the Milky Way running through the Constellations Cygnus and Aquila. The constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin, is located bottom centre. The Nova is highlighted in yellow.

The Nova can be seen with binoculars, so if its a clear night where you are, why not go out and see if you can find it?

The Nova was discovered in August by the Japanese amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki.