De nova stella

"De nova stella" is the title of a work by Tycho Brahe published in 1573. This work documented his observations of a supernova he discovered in 1572, which appeared in the constellation Cassiopeia. Brahe's precise measurements demonstrated that this "new star" was at the distance of other stars, challenging the prevailing belief in the unchanging nature of the heavens. The supernova, visible to the naked eye for about two years, was exceptionally bright, rivaling the apparent magnitude of Venus. Modern analysis indicates it was a Type Ia supernova, resulting from a thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf star.123