Nova GK Persei is a white dwarf star that threw an epic fit. It steals
material from its companion star, and this material piles up on its
surface, heated and hugely compressed. All at once it underwent
catastrophic nuclear fusion, detonating like a bomb, blasting countless
trillions of tons of matter outward at 1000 km/sec.
That happened more than 1,400 years ago. The light reached Earth in
1901, and over the ensuing century we have watched the debris expand
like fireworks.
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