A Rare Nova Visible To The Eye

See It While You Can!

By Kelly Kizer Whitt at EarthSky

August 10, 2021 – “On August 8, 2021, the star RS Ophiuchi burst into view in Earth’s sky as what astronomers call a nova. It’s a rare nova visible to the unaided eye. It’s nowhere near as bright as the brightest stars. But, in a dark sky, you can see it shining in the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.  Earlier this week, the nova was said to have brightened to magnitude 4.3.  If true, that would be huge amount of brightness increase for this star. RS Oph normally shines at around a magnitude of 12. It’s usually much too dim to see with the eye or even most backyard telescopes. But a sudden thermonuclear explosion on this star’s surface has increased its brightness several hundredfold.”

More at: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/a-rare-nova-visible-to-the-eye-see-it-while-you-can/