AT 2023prq : Nova
Astronomers have recently performed photometric and spectroscopic observations of a recently discovered nova, known as AT 2023prq.
- Nova is any of a class of exploding stars whose luminosity temporarily increases from several thousand to as much as 100,000 times its normal level.
- A nova reaches maximum luminosity within hours after its outburst and may shine intensely for several days or occasionally for a few weeks, after which it slowly returns to its former level of luminosity.
- Stars that become novas are nearly always too faint before the eruption to be seen with the unaided eye.
- Their sudden increase in luminosity, however, is sometimes great enough to make them readily visible in the nighttime sky.
- To observers, such objects may appear to be new stars; hence the name nova, from the Latin word for “new.”
- Studying novae is crucial to advancing our knowledge about fundamental astrophysical processes, including stellar evolution.
- Novas occur start as white dwarf stars that are part of a binary star system.
- Binary stars are two stars that are close together in the distance and revolve around each other.
