Nova Shockwaves: VLBI observations of the 2019 Eruption of V3890 Sgr
Published: March 20, 2026
Duration: 18:44
In this episode, we dive deep into the cosmos to explore the dramatic 2019 thermonuclear eruption of V3890 Sgr, a symbiotic recurrent nova located 6.8 kiloparsecs away. A recurrent nova occurs when a white dwarf accumulates enough hydrogen-rich material from its massive companion star—in this case, an M-class red giant—to trigger a massive surface explosion without destroying the binary system.
Join us as we explore how astronomers mapped the anatomy of this blast using high-resolution radio imaging from Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and gamma-ray data from the Fermi Space Telescope. We discuss:
The...