An Explosive Moment
A nova is a very bright and sudden explosion of a star, during which it gets much, much brighter. This probably occurs when hydrogen, an explosive gas, builds up on the star's surface. When a star "goes nova" it can get as much as 40 million times brighter. Usually, a star goes nova several times, re-exploding whenever enough gas builds up. The time between flare-ups ranges from a few weeks to thousands of years. Mike witnessed the latest flare-up of one of the oldest nova ever recorded. It was first observed back in 1670, but had not exploded since. Astronomers hunted it for over three hundred years. Mike looked for it, too. In 1983, he was doing research in Hawaii using one of the largest telescopes in the world. There it was -- our first viewing in 330 years. It may be thousands of years before it flares up again -- or it could be tomorrow!