Astronomy: De Nova Stella

 Astronomers predict a Stella explosion will happen in 5 years time. Amateur astronomers have a new date for their diaries. 

 In 2022, in the constellation of Cygnus, they will be treated to the sight of a nova, or “new star”. 

 By themselves, novas are not particularly noteworthy. 

 Several dozen a year happen in Earth’s home galaxy, the Milky Way, alone. But this one will be special for two reasons. 

 One is its intensity: provided you are somewhere reasonably dark (in the countryside, in other words, rather than a big city) it will be bright enough to be seen by the naked eye. The second is that it will be the first nova whose existence was predicted before the fact. 

 One is its intensity: provided you are somewhere reasonably dark (in the countryside, in other words, rather than a big city) it will be bright enough to be seen by the naked eye. The second is that it will be the first nova whose existence was predicted before the fact. 

 It is a tale of scientific serendipity.” Nova ”, which is Latin for “ new ”, comes from the title of a book (also the title of this article) published in 1573 by Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer. 

 It is a tale of scientific serendipity.” Nova ”, which is Latin for “ new ”, comes from the title of a book (also the title of this article) published in 1573 by Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer. 

 By proving that the “ new star ” in question was a very great distance away—at the least, further than the Moon—Brahe dealt a mortalblow to the Aristotelian belief, widespread in Europe at the time, that the heavens were perfect and unchanging. 

 But the name is a misnomer. Novas are not new stars. 

 Rather, they are explosions that take place on existing ones, drastically but temporarily increasing their brightness. 

 There are several kinds, but Dr Molnar’ s nova will be caused when one member of a two-star system collides with the other, causing an enormous and violent outpouring of energy.