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Astronomers witnessed a white dwarf going nova
When a star explodes, astronomers usually scramble to point their telescopes in its direction, hoping to catch a glimpse of the aftermath. While this is a fine way for learning about the results of a nova or supernova, much less is known about the events leading up to a star's death. But, according to a new study published in Nature, when the white dwarf in the binary star system V1213 Cen exploded in 2009, it gave astronomers the first opportunity to view a classical nova from start to finish.