Nova
Videos
A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close b
Artist's conception of a white dwarf, right, accreting hydrogen from the Roche lobe of its larger companion star
Nova Eridani 2009 (apparent magnitude ~8.4)
GK Persei: Nova of 1901
Nova in Andromeda Galaxy
White dwarf
Videos
A white dwarf is a very dense type of star: in an Earth-sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. A white dwarf radiates light from residual heat and eventual crystallization, not f
Nova
…nova", Latin for "new"; the shortened form of "stella nova", Latin for "new star") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close binary systems, but causes of the dramatic appearance of a nova vary, depending on the circumstances of the two progenitor stars. The main…
Artist's impression of debris around a white dwarf
Comet falling into white dwarf (artist's impression)
Artist’s impression of WD 1856b
Artist's impression of the WD J0914+1914 system