Explosion of Monocrotis V838

Here is a video made from Hubble images of the star Monocrotis V838.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/tech/2014/06/13/orig-jag-nasa-hubble-timelapse.cnn.html

This star was discovered about 12 years ago. It was immediately recognized as a "variable star", a star whose brightness changes over time. The Hubble telescope made regular observations of Monocrotis V838 over the next 4 years. It has brightened, then dimmed, then brightened again. The pattern of brightening and dimming is unlike any other variable star observed to date. At its brightest, it was one of the brightest stars in our galaxy (in absolute terms). Read this Wikipedia article for more details....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V838_Monocerotis

The new nova in Delphinus

In the constellation Delphinus, a bright nova was detected on August 14th. A nova is simply a star that unexpectedly gets much brighter than normal. As of August 15th it is still getting brighter.

It is easy to see in binoculars, and possible to see naked eye (under dark sky conditions).

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/Bright-Nova-in-Delphinus-219631281.html