Nova Delphinus 2013 (Nova Del 2013)

This nova in Delphinus brightened to magnitude 4.6 – 4.9 when I took these series of images. A classical nova occurs when a white dwarf star, in a close orbiting binary system, picks up hydrogen gas from its companion star. At a certain point, when the white dwarf’s surface becomes very dense with this new hydrogen gas, the bottom of this layer ignites in a fusion reaction.

30 images x 90-second subframes, Total= 45 minutes. Takahashi Epsilon -180, f/2.8 astrograph, Unmodified Canon 20D DSLR, Astronomik CLS Light Pollution filter, ISO 800, Losmandy Gemini G-11 EQ mount. Acquisition, calibration, alignment, combine and digital development processing by Images Plus 3.82b, Additional processing using Adobe Photoshop. ATMoB Clubhouse, Westford, MA, 17 August 2013.