V1500 Cygni
Encyclopedia
V1500 Cygni or Nova Cygni 1975 was a bright nova
occurring in 1975 in the constellation
Cygnus
.
V1500 Cygni was discovered on August 29 and reached magnitude
1.7 on the next day. It remained visible to the naked eye for about a week. 680 days after maximum the star had dimmed by 12.5 magnitudes.
It is an AM Herculis
type star, consisting of a red dwarf
secondary depositing a stream of material onto a highly magnetized white dwarf
primary.
Nova
A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion in a star caused by the accretion of hydrogen on to the surface of a white dwarf star, which ignites and starts nuclear fusion in a runaway manner...
occurring in 1975 in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Cygnus
Cygnus (constellation)
Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way. Its name is the Latinized Hellenic word for swan. One of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross...
.
V1500 Cygni was discovered on August 29 and reached magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
1.7 on the next day. It remained visible to the naked eye for about a week. 680 days after maximum the star had dimmed by 12.5 magnitudes.
It is an AM Herculis
Polar (cataclysmic variable)
A Polar is a type of cataclysmic variable binary star system with a very strong magnetic field.In most cataclysmic variables, matter from a main-sequence companion star is gravitationally stripped by a white dwarf star in the form of an accretion disk. In polar systems, the magnetic field of the...
type star, consisting of a red dwarf
Red dwarf
According to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool star, of the main sequence, either late K or M spectral type....
secondary depositing a stream of material onto a highly magnetized white dwarf
White dwarf
A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored...
primary.