Blown-Up Star Seen Expanding - 58 Year Time-Lapse Video

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GK Persei was a bright nova occurring in 1901...1,300 Lights Years from Earth. It reached a maximum magnitude of 0.2, the brightest nova of modern times until Nova Aquilae 1918. Unlike Nova Aquilae 1918, after fading into obscurity at about magnitude 12 to 13 during the early 20th century, GK Persei began displaying infrequent outbursts of 2 to 3 magnitudes (about 7 to 15 times quiescent brightness). Since about 1980, these outbursts have become quite regular, typically lasting about two months and occurring about every three years. Thus, GK Persei has seemed to change from a classical nova like Nova Aquilae 1918, to more recently resemble a typical dwarf nova-type cataclysmic variable star.

Surrounding GK Persei is the Firework nebula, a nova remnant first detected in 1902 consisting of an expanding cloud of gas and dust bubbles moving up to 1200 km/s.

Nova Persei 1901 was discovered February 21 by Scottish clergyman Thomas David Anderson. This nova also figures in the plot of H. P. Lovecraft's short story "Beyond the Wall of Sleep"

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Images of the remnant (Nova Persei 1901) by the Isaac Newton Telescope and the Nordic Optical Telescope in Spain spliced together allow a 3-D model to be created.