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Stellar Boom! Exploding Dying Star Seen From Earth With Naked Eye
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V462 Lupi, a star in a distant binary system, has exploded in a rare cosmic event that may be briefly visible to the unaided eye.
Stargazers across the southern hemisphere are being treated to a rare celestial event this week, after astronomers confirmed a sudden nova explosion in the southern constellation Lupus. The star, named V462 Lupi, dramatically brightened on June 12, increasing its luminosity more than four million times to reach magnitude +5.7, making it just visible to the naked eye under dark skies.
The outburst was first confirmed by astronomers in Chile and South Korea, with Dawid Mozdzierski capturing the moment from the Atacama Desert and Bum-Suk Yeom publishing a finder chart to help observers locate the star.
Classified as a classical nova, V462 Lupi is part of a binary system in which a white dwarf siphons gas from a companion star. As material accumulates, it eventually triggers a thermonuclear explosion, lighting up the system dramatically.
Nova Lupi 2025 (= V462 Lupi) imaged at about 03:45 UTC on the 19th. Discovered a few days ago, it's probably around maximum light now. I estimated its visual magnitude at around +5.4. Low in the sky from this latitude, but not hard to find with binoculars. — Dr. John Barentine FRAS (@JohnBarentine) June 19, 2025
A report by broadcaster India Today pointed out that these events are not unprecedented, but they are 'rare". They occur usually only about once a year and are often too faint or short-lived to be noticed without telescopes.
The nova's current brightness places it just within the threshold for unaided viewing, but astronomers say it could dim just as fast.
When pressure and temperature reach critical levels, a thermonuclear reaction ignites, causing a sudden, dramatic brightening and often thousands to millions of times. This outburst is called a nova (Latin for 'new").
This makes the star temporarily visible even to the naked eye. Unlike supernovae, novas don't destroy the star, and the cycle can repeat over time. Classical novas occur about once-a-year galaxy wide.
According to NASA, despite the name, a nova isn't a new star being born. Ancient astronomers thought they were seeing a brand-new star suddenly appear in the sky. In reality, it's an old star flaring up.
