                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2025 July 3
     A starfield is shown with constellations annotated. The band of our
      Milky Way galaxy runs diagonally from the upper left to the lower
   right. Just above the image center is a faint dot that is annotated in
   yellow -- V462 LUPI, a nova that was visible with the unaided eye last
     week and is currently still visible with binoculars. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

                         Nova V462 Lupi Now Visible
           Image Credit & Copyright: Matipon Tangmatitham (NARIT)

   Explanation: If you know where to look, you can see a thermonuclear
   explosion from a white dwarf star. Possibly two. Such explosions are
   known as novas and the detonations are currently faintly visible with
   the unaided eye in Earth's southern hemisphere -- but are more easily
   seen with binoculars. Pictured, Nova Lupi 2025 (V462 Lupi) was captured
   toward the southern constellation of the Wolf (Lupus) last week near
   the central plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Nova Lupi 2025 was
   originally discovered on June 12 and peaked in brightness about a week
   later. Similarly, Nova Velorum 2025, toward the southern constellation
   of the Ship Sails (Vela), was discovered on June 25 and peaked a few
   days later. A nova somewhere in our Galaxy becomes briefly visible to
   the unaided eye only every year or two, so it is quite unusual to have
   two novas visible simultaneously. Meanwhile, humanity awaits even a
   different nova: T Coronae Borealis, which should become visible in
   northern skies and is expected to become even brighter.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

