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novaemore about novae

novae

 

  1  definition  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Nova  \No"va\  (n[=o]"v[.a]),  n.;  pl  L.  {Nov[ae]}  (-v[=e]),  E. 
  {Novas}  (-v[.a]z).  [L.,  fem.  sing.  of  novus  new.]  (Astron.) 
  A  new  star,  usually  appearing  suddenly,  shining  for  a  brief 
  period,  and  then  sinking  into  obscurity.  Such  appearances  are 
  supposed  to  result  from  cosmic  collisions,  as  of  a  dark  star 
  with  interstellar  nebulosities 
 
  Note:  The  most  important  modern  nov[ae]  are: 
 
  {No"va  Co*ro"n[ae]  Bo`re*a"lis}[1866]; 
 
  {No"va  Cyg"ni}[1876]; 
 
  {No"va  An*dro"me*d[ae]}[1885]; 
 
  {No"va  Au*ri"g[ae]}[1891-92]; 
 
  {No"va  Per"se*i}[1901].  There  are  two  nov[ae]  called  {Nova 
  Persei}.  They  are: 
  a  A  small  nova  which  appeared  in  1881. 
  b  An  extraordinary  nova  which  appeared  in  Perseus  in  1901. 
  It  was  first  sighted  on  February  22,  and  for  one  night 
  (February  23)  was  the  brightest  star  in  the  sky.  By  July 
  it  had  almost  disappeared,  after  which  faint  surrounding 
  nebulous  masses  were  discovered,  apparently  moving 
  radially  outward  from  the  star  at  incredible  velocity.




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