novae Hear it!

Variant of nova

nova Definition

nova (nō′və)

noun pl. novas -·vas or novae -·vae (-vē)

Astron. a type of variable star that suddenly increases in brightness by thousands to hundreds of thousands of times up to 14 magnitudes, and then decreases in brightness over a period of months to years

Etymology: ModL < L nova (stella), new (star) < novus, new

novae Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • classical: Classical novae are seen to erupt once, and the amplitude of the outburst is the largest among CVs.
  • bright: Nova rising soon after to mag 4 making it one of the brightest novae for some years.
  • old: Old novae are therefore surrounded by shells of ejected matter illuminated by the light from the central binary system.