V368 Aquilae

Lore & Background

V368 Aquilae was discovered on a photographic plate by Nils Tamm at Kvistaberg Observatory on 7 October 1936. At discovery it was at photographic magnitude 7 and already fading. Pre-discovery photographs showed peak brightness around 25 September 1936, when it reached apparent magnitude 5.0, making it visible to the naked eye. The nova was described as fiery red due to strong Hα emission, and for a time could be seen with binoculars simultaneously with V356 Aquilae, another nova Tamm had discovered a month earlier. It is classified as a moderately fast nova, dropping by three magnitudes in about 42 days. Like all novae, it is a binary system with a donor star orbiting a white dwarf; matter transfers from the donor to the white dwarf. Because the stars are close, they are often eclipsing binaries, and V368 Aquilae does show eclipses. Marin and Shfter studied these eclipses, which have a depth of about 0.25 magnitudes and a period of 16.57 hours—an unusually long orbital period for a nova.

Reader's Guide

V368 Aquilae holds significance as a moderately fast nova that was the second nova discovered in Aquila in 1936, following the fainter V356 Aquilae. Its discovery by Nils Tamm at Kvistaberg Observatory on 7 October 1936, and its peak brightness around 25 September 1936 at magnitude 5.0, made it briefly visible to the naked eye. The nova's fiery red appearance due to strong Hα emission and its simultaneous visibility with V356 Aquilae through binoculars highlight a rare observational coincidence. Its classification as a moderately fast nova, dropping three magnitudes in about 42 days, provides a benchmark for nova decay rates. The eclipses studied by Marin and Shfter, with a depth of about 0.25 magnitudes and an orbital period of 16.57 hours, are notable because this period is unusually long for a nova, offering insights into binary system dynamics. The article does not discuss further legacy or significance beyond these observed characteristics.

Did You Know?

• Its peak brightness of magnitude 5.0 occurred around 25 September 1936, making it visible to the naked eye.
• It has an unusually long orbital period of 16.57 hours for a nova.