Health & Fitness
Astronomy News Flash: Nova in Delphinus
The astronomy community is a-buzz with news of a bright nova in a prominent northern constellation, visible in the evening sky, right now.
A nova occurs near the end of the lifetime of a star similar to ours in size. An enormous explosion occurs in the outer region of the star's core, tearing the atmosphere of the star off the core, and typically resulting in a expanding cloud of glowing gas, while the core collapses to become a white dwarf. The light output of the star temporarily increases by 1000s of times, bringing a previously invisible star to naked eye visibility.
Although the exact nature of this event will require time to analyze the data being collected, we could be witnessing an event similar to that which created the Ring Nebula in Lyra, which I discussed in my last post. (If this is the case, we would not expect to see the nebula for decades or centuries after the nova subsides).
On August 14th, the nova was first sighted in the constellation Delphinus, below a brightness that would be visible to the naked eye. I observed it later that night through binoculars without difficulty. By Friday the 16th, reports had the brightness reaching naked-eye visibility.
I've been holding back on sending out a note because of clouds, but later tonight these clouds are supposed to yield to clear skies, and tomorrow night will be a second opportunity to see this object.
Although the Moon may also interfere, as it is approaching its full phase tomorrow night, we should be able to spot the nova, and certainly by later this week it should still be visible and the Moon will be leaving the evening sky.
To find Delphinus, look to the southeast at about 9pm, about 1/2 way up the sky. Delphinus is spotted as a diamond of 4 moderately-dim stars. To find the nova, draw a line from between the bottom and top of the diamond, and extend this line up by about 5 times its length. The nova is just to the left of this line, and is the same brightness as the stars in the diamond of Delphinus.
I've attached a finder chart for the nova, referencing both Delphinus and Lyra. If you've forgotten Delphinus since class, Lyra may have been more memorable. If you are completely lost, start with the brightest star in Lyra (Vega) which will be nearly overhead at 9pm for the next several weeks.
NOTE: This is a nova, NOT a supernova. A supernova in our own galaxy would be headline news even in today's press. A nova occurs near the end of the lifetime of a star similar to ours. Novae can also be periodic (recurrent) with periods of decades to millenia. This object is not a known recurrent nova, so it is probably truly a new occurrence.
An amazing quantity of data is being collected on this object now in the astronomical (and amateur astronomical) community. We are sure to learn much more about the nature of this object in the weeks ahead.