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nova

A New Species of Type Ia Supernova?

August 27, 2012

Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter Artist’s conception of a binary star system that produces recurrent novae, and ultimately, the supernova PTF 11kx. (Credit: Romano Corradi and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias) Although they have been used as the “standard candles” of cosmic distance measurement for [...]

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NASA’s STEREO Spots a New Nova

May 1, 2012

While on duty observing the Sun from its position in solar orbit, NASA’s STEREO-B spacecraft captured the sudden appearance of a distant bright object. This flare-up turned out to be a nova — designated Sagittarii 2012 — the violent expulsion of material and radiation from a re-igniting white dwarf star. Remove this ad

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Light Echoes: The Re-Run Of The Eta Carinae “Great Eruption”

February 17, 2012

In this modern age, we’re used to catching a favorite program at a later time. We use our DVR equipment and, not so long ago, a VCR to record now and watch later. Once upon a great time ago we relied upon a quaint customer called the “re-run” – the same program broadcast at a [...]

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Last Minute TV Viewing Alert: Finding Life Beyond Earth

October 19, 2011

A new NOVA show airs tonight (October 19) in the US on public television, called “Finding Life Beyond Earth.” It includes interviews with many big names in planetary science and like any NOVA show, should be excellent. PBS has a great website that goes along with the show, and for those of you that don’t [...]

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Nova

November 16, 2010

A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion casued by the accretion of hydrogen on to the surface of a white dwarf. The hydrogen ignites and sparks runaway nuclear fusion. These are separate items not related to supernovae or other phenomena. When a white dwarf has a close companion star that overflows its Roche lobe, the [...]

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