micronova
Sign in to savethumb|290px|Artist's impression of a micronovaA micronova is a putative type of thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a white dwarf much smaller than the strength of a nova; being about in strength, about a millionth that of a typical nova. The phenomenon was first described in April 2022.
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4 sectionsContents
- History
- Formation
- References
- See also
thumb|290px|Artist's impression of a micronovaA micronova is a putative type of thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a white dwarf much smaller than the strength of a nova; being about in strength, about a millionth that of a typical nova. The phenomenon was first described in April 2022.
== History == A team led by Dr Simone Scaringi of Durham University announced on 20 April 2022 that they identified three micronovae using data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The team discovered with TESS that two of the micronovae occurred on white dwarfs, with the astronomers confirming with the Very Large Telescope that the third occurred on a white dwarf as well.