Astronomers using a pair of ground-based MAGIC telescopes have observed a huge nova explosion created by a pair of stars called RS Ophiuchi.
Astronomers using a pair of ground-based MAGIC telescopes have observed a huge nova explosion created by a pair of stars called RS Ophiuchi or RS Oph, located in the Serpent Bearer constellation. The binary pair consists of a small, extremely dense remnant of a former bright star called a white dwarf, along with a much larger red giant which is coming to the end of its life. The red giant is casting off layers of hydrogen as its fuel dwindles, and this gas is being sucked up by the dense white dwarf. But the sheer volume of gas being gobbled up by the white dwarf is overwhelming, and eventually, the shell of gas forming around it builds in temperature and pressure until it is thrown off in a huge thermonuclear explosion.
