Starship Asterisk*

Chris Peterson wrote:

Anthony Barreiro wrote:

Chris Peterson wrote:An interesting question. If it's between outbursts, does it still qualify as a nova?

If it's been a long time since its last outburst, would it be an old nova?

Exactly. A malnova.

Anthony Barreiro wrote:

Chris Peterson wrote:An interesting question. If it's between outbursts, does it still qualify as a nova?

If it's been a long time since its last outburst, would it be an old nova? :doh:

Chris Peterson wrote:An interesting question. If it's between outbursts, does it still qualify as a nova?

geckzilla wrote:
Whoever named novas didn't put that much forethought into it.
You could propose novas be renamed to something long, mundane, and more correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guest_star_%28astronomy%29 wrote:
<<In Chinese astronomy, the term "guest star" (ke xing 客星) refers to a star which has suddenly appeared visible in a place where no star had previously been observed and becomes invisible again after some time. The term is a literal translation from ancient Chinese astronomical records. Modern astronomy recognizes that guest stars are manifestations of cataclysmic variable stars: novae and supernovae. Still, the term "guest star" is still used in the context of ancient records, since the exact classification of an astronomical event in question is based on interpretations of old records, rather than on direct observations. In ancient Chinese astronomy, guest stars were one of the three types of "new stars", the other two being comets in modern understanding.>>

Anthony Barreiro wrote:

Chris Peterson wrote:

Anthony Barreiro wrote:A brand new nova! How exciting!

What other kind of nova could their be? If it weren't new, it would be a malnova.

It could be a recurrent nova.

Chris Peterson wrote:

Anthony Barreiro wrote:A brand new nova! How exciting!

What other kind of nova could their be? If it weren't new, it would be a malnova.

Anthony Barreiro wrote:A brand new nova! How exciting!

Anthony Barreiro wrote:A brand new nova! How exciting!

Czernoo wrote:I have reviewed all the comments, still can't seem to find an definite hint of how long a typical nova such as this is supposed to stay extra-bright : days? weeks ? more ?

TIA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova wrote:A fast nova will typically take less than 25 days to decay by 2 magnitudes and a slow nova will take over 80 days.[Reference:] Warner, Brian (1995). Cataclysmic Variable Stars. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-41231-5.

avogt wrote: Unfortunately since I am still learning how to take the photographs they are not as high quality as they could be.

http://www.universetoday.com/104192/update-on-the-bright-nova-delphini-2013-plus-a-gallery-of-images-from-our-readers/#more-104192 wrote:

[b][color=#0000FF]Proving that Nova Delphini 2013 is now a bright, naked-eye object, this fun image shows not only the nova, but the surrounding landscape in Sweden of the photographer, too. Credit and copyright: Göran Strand.[/color][/b]

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[b][color=#0000FF]The bright new Nova Delphini 2013, as seen from Puerto Rico on August 16th, 03:13ut Credit: Efrain Morales/Jaicoa Observatory.[/color][/b]

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Update on the Bright Nova Delphini 2013;
by Nancy Atkinson on August 16, 2013

<<Since showing itself on August 14, 2013, a bright nova in the constellation Delphinus — now officially named Nova Delphini 2013 — has brightened even more. As of this writing, the nova is at magnitude 4.4 to 4.5, meaning that for the first time in years, there is a nova visible to the naked eye — if you have a dark enough sky. Even better, use binoculars or a telescope to see this “new star” in the sky.

The new nova is located in Delphinus alongside the familiar Summer Triangle outlined by Deneb, Vega and Altair. If you aren’t able to see the nova for yourself, there are a few online observing options:

The Virtual Star Party team, led by UT’s publisher Fraser Cain, will try to get a view during the next VSP, at Sunday night on Google+ — usually at this time of year, about 10 pm EDT/0200 UTC on Monday mornings.

The Virtual Telescope Project, based in Italy, will have an online observing session on August 19, 2013 at 20:00 UTC, and you can join astronomer Gianluca Masi at this link.

The Slooh online telescope had an observing session yesterday (which you can see here), and we’ll post an update if they plan any additional viewing sessions.

There’s no way to predict if the nova will remain bright for a few days more, and unfortunately the Moon is getting brighter and bigger in the sky (it will be full on August 20), so take the opportunity this weekend if you can to try and see the new nova.>>

Czernoo wrote:I have reviewed all the comments, still can't seem to find an definite hint of how long a typical nova such as this is supposed to stay extra-bright : days? weeks ? more ?

TIA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova#Development wrote:
The time taken for a nova to decay by 2 or 3 magnitudes from maximum optical brightness is used to classify a nova via its speed class. A fast nova will typically take less than 25 days to decay by 2 magnitudes and a slow nova will take over 80 days.[3]

Ann wrote:[That's interesting, Chris. Do you think it is not sufficiently far away to be significantly reddened by Milky Way dust?

I would have guessed that the nova is at least a thousand light-years away.

Chris Peterson wrote: This is a classical nova, not a supernova. I don't think the progenitor star has been conclusively identified, but it's probably fairly close (and inside our own galaxy, of course).

drollere wrote:if this is a type Ia supernova as the APOD caption asserts...

avogt wrote:I'm not positive but I may have inadvertently caught a photo of this the night of the 13th in Oregon while experimenting with my new camera.