Nova witnessed - universal phenomenon viewed from earth

Ever wondered what a nova looks like? Well, a Polish telescope based in Chile witnessed just that while on the lookout for dark matter.

Despite the anti-climatic pix-elated result, the inner workings of this occurrence are quite extraordinary. The star which exploded (a white dwarf), sucked gas from a larger neighbouring star until it blows up. This 'classic nova' occurs about every 10,000 to one million years. Perhaps this illustration does the process justice

The images taken for the project, allow researchers to observe and study the star system before the explosion brought it to their attention. Perhaps there are more mysteries to uncover, but one thing is clear, the universe never ceases to amaze.