Related papers: VVV-WIT-01: highly obscured classical nova or prot…
The enigmatic near-infrared transient VVV-WIT-06 underwent a large amplitude eruption of unclear origin in July 2013. Based on its lightcurve properties and late-time post-outburst spectra various possibilities have been proposed in the…
We report the discovery of VVV-WIT-04, a near-infrared variable source towards the Galactic disk located ~0.2 arcsec apart from the position of the radio source PMN J1515-5559. The object was found serendipitously in the near-IR data of the…
Near-IR data of Classical Novae contain useful information about the ejected gas mass and the thermal emission by dust formed during eruption, and provide independent methods to classify the objects according to the colour of their…
We report the serendipitous discovery of a late-type giant star that exhibited a smooth, eclipse-like drop in flux to a depth of 97 per cent. Minimum flux occurred in April 2012 and the total event duration was a few hundred days. Light…
We report the discovery of a six-month-long mid-infrared transient, SDWFS-MT-1 (aka SN 2007va), in the Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey Bootes field. The transient, located in a z=0.19 low luminosity…
Extremely luminous, red eruptive variables like RV in M31 are being suggested as exemplars of a new class of astrophysical object. Our greatly extended series of nova simulations shows that classical nova models can produce very red,…
Numerous eruptive variable young stellar objects (YSOs), mostly Class I systems, were recently detected by the near-infrared Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey. We present an exploratory near-infrared spectroscopic variability…
We report the discovery of VVV-WIT-07, an unique and intriguing variable source presenting a sequence of recurrent dips with a likely deep eclipse in July 2012. The object was found serendipitously in the near-IR data obtained by the VISTA…
Peaking at 3.7 mag on 2020 July 11, YZ Ret was the second-brightest nova of the decade. The nova's moderate proximity (2.7 kpc from Gaia) provided an opportunity to explore its multi-wavelength properties in great detail. Here we report on…
Bright optical transients (i.e. transients typically visible with the naked eye) are populated mainly by novae eruptions plus a few supernovae (among which the SN1987a event). One bright nova happen every two years, either in the North ot…
Fast novae are primarily located within the plane of the Galaxy, slow novae are found within its bulge. Because of high interstellar extinction along the line of sight many novae lying close to the plane are missed and only the brightest…
Here we investigate an infrared eruptive source, identified from the decade-long VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea survey (VVV). We named this target after a group of variable sources discovered by VVV, as VVV-WIT-13, with WIT standing for…
Cataclysmic variable stars (CVs) are close binary systems consisting of a white dwarf (primary) that is accreting matter from a low-mass companion star (secondary). From time to time such systems undergo large-amplitude brightenings. The…
We summarize photometric and spectroscopic observations of V463 Sct (Nova Sct 2000), which was originally thought to be a red variable. The spectrum taken on 2000 March 16.81 UT showed prominent emission lines with a FHWM of 990 km/s (H…
Nova 1670 is a historical transient bearing strong similarities to a recently-recognized type of stellar eruptions known as red novae, which are thought to be powered by stellar mergers. The remnant of the transient, CK Vul, is observable…
We have performed a comprehensive search of a VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) database of 9.5 yr light curves for variable sources with $\Delta K_s \ge 4$ mag, aiming to provide a large sample of high amplitude eruptive young…
We use near-infrared photometry and astrometry from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey to analyse microlensing events containing annual microlensing parallax information. These events are located in highly extincted and…
We report the serendipitous discovery of VVV-WIT-12, an unusual variable source that seems to induce variability in its surrounding nebula. The source belongs to the rare objects that we call WITs (short for What Is This?) discovered within…
Nova V5116 Sgr 2005 No. 2, discovered on 2005 July 4, was observed with XMM-Newton in March 2007, 20 months after the optical outburst. The X-ray spectrum showed that the nova had evolved to a pure supersoft X-ray source, indicative of…
CK Vulpeculae was observed in outburst in 1670-16721, but no counterpart was seen until 1982, when a bipolar nebula was found at its location. Historically, CK Vul has been considered to be a nova (Nova Vul 1670), but a similarity to 'red…