On August 14, 2013 a small faint white dwarf star went Nova. Located 13000 light years away in the constellation Delphinus, it was discovered with a small telescope by an amateur astronomer in Japan.
Novae of this type occur when a small white dwarf star pulls gas off of a large close companion star. The gas builds up on the white dwarf star until it reaches a critical limit and explodes. The star remains intact, but the exploding gas transforms the faint star into a brilliant star for several months. Designated Nova Delphini 2013, the white dwarf brightened nearly 100,000 times making it visible from our distant location.
I took a picture of Nova Delphini 2013 on August 24th just after it reached maximum brightness. I took a second picture after it had faded on October 26th. The two pictures are attached to this email. The pictures are also included in the attached movie that switches back and forth between the two dates for comparison. I plan to image Nova Delphini 2013 a third time this fall. Stay tuned.
Find out what's happening in Greenwichfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Technical Details:
June Hill Observatory
Find out what's happening in Greenwichfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
TeleVue 101is Telescope
Canon 60Da
60 second exposure @ ISO800
Starry Nights!
