V603 Aquilae

Lore & Background

V603 Aquilae was first seen by Zygmunt Laskowski, a medical professor and amateur astronomer, and then confirmed on the night of 8 June 1918 by the UK amateur astronomer Grace Cook. It reached a peak magnitude of −0.5, the brightest nova recorded in the era of the telescope. Originally a star system with a magnitude of 11.43, it took twelve days to fade three magnitudes and then 18.6 years to fade to quiescence. In 1964 Robert P. Kraft ascertained that it was a binary system, recently determined to be true for several other novae at the time. The star system has settled to an average apparent magnitude of 11.4 since the 1940s, fading by around 1/100 of a magnitude per decade. The nova's parallax, 3.191±0.069 milliarcseconds, was measured by the Gaia spacecraft, implying a distance of 1020±23 light years. Spectroscopic analysis indicated the system consisted of a white dwarf of about 1.2 solar masses, with an accretion disk, and a companion star with about 20% of the Sun's mass, most likely a red dwarf. The two stars orbit each other approximately every 3 hours 20 minutes.

Reader's Guide

V603 Aquilae is significant as the brightest nova observed since the invention of the telescope, outshining all stars except Sirius and Canopus at its peak. Its discovery by amateur astronomers highlights the role of non-professionals in astronomical observation. The system's binary nature, confirmed by Robert P. Kraft in 1964, was among the first such determinations for novae, establishing a key characteristic of these objects. The white dwarf's mass of about 1.2 solar masses and the red dwarf companion's low mass (20% solar) provide insight into the dynamics of nova systems. Radio observations from 1983, 2013, and 2019 detected emissions at various frequencies, consistent with gyrosynchrotron, cyclotron maser, and optically thick synchrotron emission, revealing the complex physics of the ejected material. The Gaia parallax measurement gives a precise distance of about 1020 light years, anchoring its physical properties. Its long-term fading since the 1940s demonstrates the gradual dissipation of the nova shell.

Did You Know?

• V603 Aquilae was the brightest nova recorded in the era of the telescope, peaking at magnitude −0.5.
• It was first seen by medical professor and amateur astronomer Zygmunt Laskowski.
• The system's white dwarf has about 1.2 times the mass of the Sun, and its companion is a red dwarf with about 20% solar mass.
• Radio emissions from the nova were detected at 5 GHz in 1983, 8.9 GHz in 2013, and 1.3 GHz in 2019.