All Questions
4 questions
6
votes
1
answer
239
views
Why does a white dwarf sometimes go 'nova' and sometimes supernova (type 1a)?
Obviously, when a white dwarf goes truly supernova, there is nothing left, not even, I have heard, a neutron star or black hole...
But when certain white dwarf stars accrete certain amounts or types ...
- 5,585
5
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Difference between Supernova Type Ia and Nova
What is the difference between Supernova Type Ia and Nova? Base on a web search, they seem to have a similar formation process, as they are both white dwarfs in a binary system who absorb masses from ...
- 1,306
6
votes
1
answer
274
views
Assuming no light pollution, was "2C. 1406" ever visible to the naked eye?
Joseph Needham, in his Science and Civilisation in China Vol. III, claimed that there was an ancient record of a nova about three thousand years ago. As a result of private correspondences with a "Dr ...
- 163
1
vote
1
answer
152
views
Identifying cataclysmic stellar phenomena
Cataclysms such as novas, kilonovas, supernova, magnetars, quasars, gamma ray bursts are rarely visible from Earth. Under what conditions (such as distance, day vs. night, naked eye vs. level of ...
- 329