News Astronomy

The number of Milky Way nova explosions per year has been pinned down

Every year, about four dozen of these stellar eruptions occur in our galaxy

Nova Persei 1901

A nova makes a dim star shine roughly 100,000 times as brightly as the sun. This image shows Nova Persei 1901 about a century after its explosion, with magenta, yellow and blue indicating radio waves, visible light and X-rays, respectively.

X-ray: D. Takei et al, NASA, CXC, RIKEN; Optical: STScI, NASA; Radio: VLA/NRAO

By Ken Croswell

- More than 2 years ago

Each year, astronomers discover nova explosions in the Milky Way that cause dim stars to flare up and emit far more light than the sun before they fade again.