Editing Nova (section)

== Etymology ==
During the sixteenth century, astronomer [[Tycho Brahe]] observed the [[supernova]] [[SN 1572]] in the [[constellation]] [[Cassiopeia (constellation)|Cassiopeia]]. He described it in his book ''De nova stella'' ([[Latin]] for "concerning the new star"), giving rise to the adoption of the name ''nova''. In this work he argued that a nearby object should be seen to move relative to the fixed stars, and thus the nova had to be very far away. Although SN 1572 was later found to be a supernova and not a nova, the terms were considered interchangeable until the 1930s.<ref name="encyc" /> After this, novae were called ''classical novae'' to distinguish them from [[supernova]]e, as their causes and energies were thought to be different, based solely on the observational evidence.

Although the term "stella nova" means "new star", novae most often take place on [[white dwarf]]s, which are remnants of extremely old stars.