
Equipment: Nikon D3000, Tamron 70-300 @ 70mm, f/4., ISO400, 20s
Nova was discovered on 15. of March, when its brightness was estimated to magnitude +6.0. After few days its magnitude peaked to about +4.4 and was easily observed by naked eye. The best time to observer this new bright star is just before the start of astronomical twilight, when the nova is at its highest position in a dark sky.
As the name may suggest, novae are not really new stars but an explosion on a star that was barely observable before the event. They occur in binary star systems where tiny white dwarf (but with very strong gravitational force at its surface) pulls gases from a close nearby companion star. With time accumulated material forms a thin layer on the hot surface of the white dwarf star. Gravity at the surface compacts and heats the material until it fuses and burns explosively to create the explosion called a nova.