In 2018, three satellites viewing a nova outburst captured the first direct evidence that most of the explosion’s visible light arose from shock waves — abrupt changes of pressure and temperature formed in the explosion debris. A nova is a sudden, short-lived brightening of an otherwise inconspicuous star. It occurs when a stream of hydrogen from a companion star flows onto the surface of a white dwarf, a compact stellar cinder not much larger than Earth. NASA’s Fermi and NuSTAR space telescopes

Scientists have captured the most detailed direct images ever of nova explosions, revealing that these blasts are far more complex than previously thought. Instead of expanding as smooth, spherical shells, novas erupt in twisted, clumpy, and asymmetric structures shaped by magnetic fields, stellar winds, and the motion of the two stars involved. The images show shockwaves, jets, and rapidly changing patterns of ejected gas. These findings help researchers understand how novas enrich space with h