They Spotted a Flash in the Night Sky – It Turned Out to Be a Rare Exploding Star

They Spotted a Flash in the Night Sky – It Turned Out to Be a Rare Exploding Star

A dramatic cosmic event, a rare dwarf nova that suddenly brightened by a factor of 2,500, has been discovered with the help of everyday skywatchers through the Kilonova Seekers project. Often described as playing astronomical “spot the difference,” Kilonova Seekers invites the public to scan and compare new telescope images of the night sky with [...]

Stargazers Rejoice: Two Novae Illuminate the Sky in a Once-in-a-Generation Event

Right now, an extraordinary and rare event is happening in the southern sky: two novae, or stellar explosions, can be seen with the naked eye. This remarkable phenomenon has only been recorded once before, back in 1936. Novae, which occur when a white dwarf star pulls matter from its companion star and causes a violent explosion, are typically too faint to be visible without a telescope. But for a brief period, stargazers in the Southern Hemisph…