A fortnight ago, a nothing-special white dwarf in the southern constellation Lupus threw a thermonuclear tantrum. Astronomers tagged the outburst V462 Lupi, or Nova Lupi 2025.
It erupted on 12 June, climbed to a respectable magnitude 5.6, and is still visible (if you can find a spot without light pollution.)
EarthSky readers were still logging naked-eye sightings under dark rural skies on 24 June.
Classical nova spotted from Cape Town
Astronomer and postdoctoral fellow, Dr Yusuke Tampo from the Astronomical Observatory at the University of Cape Town, analysed the light coming from the object.
On 14 June, Tampo used the 1-meter Lesedi telescope and determined it is likely a classical nova, which is a massive explosion caused by a white dwarf igniting gas from a companion star. On June 16, it was given the official designation V462 Lupi.
The International Astronomical Union’s Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT), based at Harvard, confirmed the discovery of a new classical nova.
Nova Lupi 2025, a ‘vampire star’
Nova Lupi 2025 is a classic “vampire star”: a white dwarf siphons gas from a companion until its stolen hydrogen flash-ignites.
The detonation blasts the system millions of times brighter, but doesn’t shred the star the way a supernova would.
Because the underlying dwarf survives, the light curve decays slowly (over the course of weeks, sometimes months).
Right now, Nova Lupi is fading at a lethargic rate of only a few tenths of a magnitude, which keeps it hanging in easy binocular territory.
Nova Lupi 2025 visible from SA
The nova’s coordinates (the experts say “right ascension 15h 24m, declination –41° 49′”) plant it firmly in the southern sky.
That makes it a showpiece for the Southern Hemisphere, where Lupus rides high after dusk.
Northern observers aren’t shut out, but you need to live south of roughly 35° N (think Houston, Cairo, Málaga) to lift it clear of horizon sludge.
Above that latitude, it skims too low and too murky for comfort.
How to spot Nova Lupi 2025
Start with Antares, the burn-orange heart of Scorpius. Then drop your gaze south-east toward a modest star named Eta Lupi.
In a telescope field that usually looks politely empty, you’ll spot an interloper that simply wasn’t there last month.
That’s the nova.
Why even bother?
Because “new stars” visible to the naked eye don’t come along every year, let alone in a spot most South Africans and Australians can see without contorting their spines.
Because watching the brightness slide night after night is real-time astrophysics you can do from the braai.
And because, let’s be honest, a cosmos that can casually drop a brand-new dot into an otherwise well-worn constellation is the kind of humility lesson we all need.
Don’t wait too long
Peak brightness is past; once the nova dips below magnitude 6.5 it becomes a telescope-only game.
Give it a week or two and that’s exactly where it’ll head.
So pour a warm drink, step outside after twilight, point south, and claim bragging rights while they’re on offer.
Sources: discovery circulars via ASAS-SN; brightness updates from Sky & Telescope (21 Jun 2025) and EarthSky (24 Jun 2025); visibility limits from TheSkyLive charts. No speculation, no hype—just photons and facts.