Cancel

gear Push settings

bars

homehome Home chatchat Notifications


NASA captures a nova exploding on video

This is definitely something you don’t see every day: NASA captured a video of a binary star system exploding into space – yeah, actual footage! This shouldn’t be confused with a supernova – which is a star collapsing in on itself, self destructing in a cosmic BANG. A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion in […]

Mihai Andrei
May 2, 2012 @ 6:10 am

share Share

This is definitely something you don’t see every day: NASA captured a video of a binary star system exploding into space – yeah, actual footage!

This shouldn’t be confused with a supernova – which is a star collapsing in on itself, self destructing in a cosmic BANG. A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion in a star caused by the accretion (gradual gravitational growth by addition) of hydrogen on to the surface of a white dwarf star, which ignites and starts nuclear fusion. Basically, a white dwarf can only hold so much hydrogen before it reaches critical mass and explodes, ejecting all the surplus mass into outer space.

To make things even juicier, the white dwarf then continues to suck hydrogen, and when the accretion reaches critical mass, the process repeats, which means NASA will continue to keep their eyes on this particular juicy spot.

The video was captured by NASA’s STEREO-B spacecraft as it kept its camera on that region of space from April 20 to 24, 2012.

Via @Sungrazercomets. Picture via Wikipedia

share Share

How Hot is the Moon? A New NASA Mission is About to Find Out

Understanding how heat moves through the lunar regolith can help scientists understand how the Moon's interior formed.

A Huge, Lazy Black Hole Is Redefining the Early Universe

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a massive, dormant black hole from just 800 million years after the Big Bang.

Should we treat Mars as a space archaeology museum? This researcher believes so

Mars isn’t just a cold, barren rock. Anthropologists argue that the tracks of rovers and broken probes are archaeological treasures.

Proba-3: The Budget Mission That Creates Solar Eclipses on Demand

Now scientists won't have to travel from one place to another to observe solar eclipses. They can create their own eclipses lasting for hours.

This Supermassive Black Hole Shot Out a Jet of Energy Unlike Anything We've Seen Before

A gamma-ray flare from a black hole 6.5 billion times the Sun’s mass leaves scientists stunned.

Astronauts will be making sake on the ISS — and a cosmic bottle will cost $650,000

Astronauts aboard the ISS are brewing more than just discoveries — they’re testing how sake ferments in space.

Superflares on Sun-Like Stars Are Much More Common Than We Thought

Sun-like stars release massive quantities of radiation into space more often than previously believed.

Astronomers Just Found Stars That Mimic Pulsars -- And This May Explain Mysterious Radio Pulses in Space

A white dwarf/M dwarf binary could be the secret.

These Satellites Are About to Create Artificial Solar Eclipses — And Unlock the Sun's Secrets

Two spacecraft will create artificial eclipses to study the Sun’s corona.

Mars Dust Storms Can Engulf Entire Planet, Shutting Down Rovers and Endangering Astronauts — Now We Know Why

Warm days may ignite the Red Planet’s huge dust storms.