Repeating Nova

Astronomers last week rejoiced in a blessed event: the birth of a nova ("new" star). In the constellation Corona Borealis, the humble star called "T" had jumped its luminosity a thousand times. First to take notice was Astronomer Armin Deutsch of Wisconsin's Yerkes Observatory. Promptly, his beaming boss, Director Otto Struve, sent a telegram to Harvard, world clearinghouse of astronomical news. Back came a pat on the back. That same star, said Harvard, had misbehaved before. A crude old photograph, taken in 1866, proved that T Corona Borealis was a "repeating nova," very rare.

Alerted from Harvard, astronomers all over the world excitedly swung their telescopes toward the exploding star. For novae, especially repeating novae, attract astronomers as porch lights attract June bugs.

Exploding stars are the unfinished business of science. Astronomers can measure the speed of the white-hot gases billowed out by the blast (up to 3,000 miles per second), but they do not know what causes the outburst. One theory: when the interior of a star reaches a certain critical temperature, an atomic reaction takes place which releases vast amounts of energy. Astronomers hope that these "atomic bombs" of the sky will teach them more about earthly atomic energy.

Most famous nova in history was the Star of Bethlehem, which led the Wise Men from the East. If it was as brilliant as Christmas cards show it, it may even have been a "super-nova"--an extra-fancy explosion which takes place in the Milky Way about once in 300 years, and for a short time gives off more light than all the rest of its stars put together.

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