Recurrent Eruption: Explosive stellar saga

Imagine the blast of a nuclear bomb as heavy as Earth and you’ll get some idea of the energy unleashed in each of the six thermonuclear explosions that have ripped off the outer layers of a dense, nearby star in the past 108 years.

RADIO BLAST. The blast wave, seen in radio waves, from the recent eruption of the two-star system RS Ophiuchi.