what do nova consist of
Artist's conception of a white dwarf accreting hydrogen from a larger companion. A nova (plural novae or novas) is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion on a white dwarf, which causes a sudden brightening of the star.Novae are not to be confused with other brightening phenomena such as supernovae or luminous red novae.he recurrence interval for a nova is less dependent on the white dwarf's accretion rate than on its mass; with their powerful gravity, massive white dwarfs require less accretion to fuel an outburst than lower-mass ones.