Zooming in on Nova Centauri 2013

This video sequence starts from a wide field view of the Milky Way and closes in on the bright and famous pair of stars Alpha and Beta Centauri. Nova Centauri 2013 exploded close to Beta Centauri in the sky in late 2013 and careful study of the light from this star has revealed the first traces of the element lithium ever found in a nova. The final image in the zoom is a closeup of the nova taken using the New Technology Telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in July 2015. The nova is the brightest star close to the centre of the picture and is much fainter than it was at maximum light, when it could be seen with the naked eye.