The explosion of this particular nova is so bright that it can be seen with the naked eye.

This is the explosion of the star RS Ophiuchi, a nova located in the equatorial constellation of Ophiuchus, some 4,566 light years away. Its eruption has been so bright that it can be seen with the naked eye from Earth, Science Alert reports, as it has multiplied its brightness by seven. Novae are quite rare stars when it comes to being detected. Also, what makes this explosion special is the rarity of this particular star.

RS Ophiuchi is one of the 10 stars that have only been detected to date in the Milky Way of what is known as a recurrent nova, that is, a star that periodically erupts. RS Ophiuchi explosions take place every 15 years or so, the last of which was in 2006. The Irish amateur astronomer Keith Geary was the first to report, on August 8, the new outbreak of this nova. Behind him, it didn't take long for notices to arrive from other people around the world. The cause of these eruptions in this nova has an explanation: RS Ophiuchi is a binary star, composed of a white dwarf in close orbit with a red giant.

The material, mainly hydrogen, that the white dwarf accumulates from the red giant on its surface, reaches a point where it is heated, and every certain period of time, the mass becomes so great that the pressure and temperature in the part bottom layer are enough to trigger a thermonuclear explosion, violently expelling excess material into space. In this case, based on spectroscopic observations of the star, the brightness is consistent with a nova, as the material is being ejected into space at speeds of around 2,600 kilometers per second.

Article by: Armando Bolivar Navarro