APOD: 2021 June 7 - A Bright Nova in Cassiopeia

Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "A Bright Nova in Cassiopeia." What's the difference between a supernova and a nova? In the case of a nova, the underlying star is not destroyed. And that's the case with V1405Cas, a nova discovered in March 2021. When a white-dwarf star accretes sufficient matter on its surface (usually from a companion star), nuclear fusion occurs. And can occur multiple times. The resulting blast hurls now heavier elements (think carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, etc) away from the star at rates exceeding 3 million miles an hour. Some of your own constituent atoms and molecules likely came from such an event before you were first stitched together in a human form. For me, it is fun to witness an essential process that makes the Universe tick.