SOFIA Spies a New Type of Stellar Outburst
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Thursday, October 13, 2022
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Astronomers using SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, discovered something unique: a new type of stellar outburst that had never been seen before in the type of system under study.
Key Points:
- WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Astronomers using SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, discovered something unique: a new type of stellar outburst that had never been seen before in the type of system under study.
- This type of nova occurs when the disc around the white dwarf becomes unstable causing an outburst that is much less powerful and bright than a classical nova.
- The cataclysmic variable SOFIA observed V1047 Cen, a white dwarf and its Sun-like companion erupted as a classical nova in 2005 (Nova Centauri 2005).
- Taken together, the data started to make more sense, and they realized they had come across something unique a new type of stellar outburst that had never been seen before in this type of system.