as in supernova
astronomy
a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness and then within a few months or years becomes less bright again
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Recent Examples of nova
Even though novas are exceptionally bright, supernovas are brighter—reaching billions of times brighter than the sun at their peak.
—
Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 July 2025
To get a separate measure of how unusual this is, the researchers placed 8 million novas around the center of the galaxy, with the distribution being random but biased to match the galaxy's brightness under the assumption that novas will be more frequent in areas with more stars.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2024
Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 July 2025
To get a separate measure of how unusual this is, the researchers placed 8 million novas around the center of the galaxy, with the distribution being random but biased to match the galaxy's brightness under the assumption that novas will be more frequent in areas with more stars.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nova
Noun
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This autumn, though, the feminist alt-rock icons are finally giving us one hell of a sonic supernova.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2026
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Astronomers now think that this Ursa Major Arc may be a shock wave from an explosion or a supernova that happened over 100,000 years ago.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The source is a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) powered by the pulsar PSR J1849-0001, located in the constellation Aquila.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Apr. 2026
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That means a pulsar doesn't have to be perfectly aligned with Earth to be observed via its radio emissions.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In the case of this Einstein Cross, the gravitational lens is the galaxy J1453g in near-perfect alignment with Earth and a distant quasar, the active region at the heart of the galaxy, which is powered by a feeding supermassive black hole.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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The team spotted the distant quasar, an actively feeding supermassive black hole, using observations from the Subaru Telescope.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But after a long conversation with the guard Saturday, Redick said the most important variable is the player’s confidence.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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The statute of limitations is another critical variable in this equation.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Located 7,200 light-years away, Cygnus X-1 features not only a black hole — the first one ever identified more than a half-century ago — but a blue supergiant star, its constant companion.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
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However, in 2014, the appearance of this supergiant began to change.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Once a star dies, there are a number of possible fates that can ensue as well, as a stellar corpse can remain as a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
14 Apr. 2026
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While the outer layers of a star explode outward, the innermost layers plunge inward, funneling a fraction of the star’s mass into the black hole (or neutron star if the star’s mass is too small).—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nova.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nova. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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