A new nova was discovered yesterday and is still getting brighter.

[Gus]

It's already visible to the naked eye.

http://www.universetoday.com/104103/bright-new-nova-in-delphinus-you-can-see-it-tonight-with-binoculars/#.Ug2OWFpyj4E.facebook

[Superfluous J]

Just ran outside to look, and sadly I can't see it. But here's hoping it brightens even more!

[Bunsen]

Thanks for the heads up! I certainly needed binoculars, thank you city lights, but I think that's the first nova I've knowingly looked at. Hope it keeps getting brighter for a while.

[PTNLemay]

Very kind of it to show up in the Summer Triangle. I'm bad at locating constellations, but this one's super easy to find. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alta%C3%AFr_Vega_%26_Deneb.gif

Shame my binoculars aren't strong enough to see it. I need some kind of tripod/stepladder to keep them steady while I gaze.

[Khrissetti]

I'm hopefully buying a telescope on Saturday, so this can be one of my first targets!

[nhnifong]

Ah, why must it be so cloudy here :!

[Gus]

Nova is now magnitude 4.2 and rising. This chart is being continually updated. It may take up to a minute to load as site is very busy.

http://www.aavso.org/lcg/plot?auid=000-BLC-933&starname=NOVA%20DEL%202013&lastdays=30&start=2456518.157746227&stop=2456528.157746227&obscode=&obscode_symbol=2&obstotals=yes&calendar=calendar&forcetics=&grid=on&visual=on&r=on&bband=on&v=on&pointsize=1&width=800&height=450&mag1=&mag2=&mean=&vmean=

It may have peaked at 4.2. Will know in a few hours.

[Wesreidau]

Time to air out the old fallout shelter for the inevitable gamma-ray burst...

[Capt'n Skunky]

I'm gonna try and catch this tonight. Up to almost a mag 4. That's nuts!

[Gus]

There are only about 400 objects in the sky brighter than it.

http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/stars.html

[PTNLemay]

I can see Sagitta, but I can't seem to see this Nova thingy... And Sagitta is supposed to be made of magnitude 4 stars and dimmer... it must have dropped back down in brightness.

[Bunsen]

I managed to catch it about an hour ago from the back yard. Not the fanciest astrophotography ever (12x zoom on an old non-SLR Canon, craptastic tripod, light polluted back yard), but it's reasonably conspicuous. I'd call it a bit brighter than Eta Sagittae (mag 5.1), but much dimmer than Gamma (mag 3.5).

Here's the widest-field view I caught (I was walking the camera toward the target by looking at these pictures, because I couldn't see anything dimmer than γ Sge in the viewfinder):

And a closer-in view. It's the brightest thing in this poorly-focused frame:

Edit: I should note that I could not see this well through my 8x42 binoculars. The nova was visible in those, but it took some effort to be sure of what I was looking at.

Edited August 17, 2013 by Bunsen

[Brotoro]

Photographed the nova tonight.