Images of V458 Vul

The nova V458 Vul exploded in early August 2007. Images obtained serendipitously shortly before the explosion showed that the exploding star was surrounded by a nebula. Later investigations showed that it was a planetary nebula, formed in an earlier phase of the star's evolution.

A paper about the nebula was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters on 20 November 2008 (link).

The nebula surrounding Nova V458 Vul, imaged before its central star erupted	Three images showing the changes in the nebula as a result of the nova explosion, in August 2007, May 2008 and September 2008
Images taken in May 2008 and September 2008 show the dramatic changes occurring in the nebula as a result of the central star's explosion

Roger Wesson
rwesson@star.ucl.ac.uk