A Star Just Exploded And Is Visible In The Night Sky

A new star explosion, called a nova, has flared up in the night sky, and it is fairly easy to spot with binoculars — and potentially even the naked eye — by stargazers with clear weather and dark skies.

You can even see the new nova online tonight in a skywatching webcast.

Called Nova Dephinus 2013, the new nova (Latin for "new star") was discovered Wednesday (Aug. 14) by amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki of Yamagata, Japan, at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) in the constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin. Itagaki used a CCD camera attached to a 7-inch reflecting telescope. A nova is a powerful eruption from star, but is not as strong as a supernova, which is a catastrophic explosion that signals the death of a star.