CK Vul: reborn perhaps, but not hibernating

Evans A., van Loon J.Th., Zijlstra A.A., Pollacco D., Smalley B., Tyne V.H, Eyres S.P.S., 2002, MNRAS, 332, L35

It has been claimed that CK Vul (the remnant of Nova Vul 1670) may be the oldest recovered `old nova' and as such provides evidence in support of the hibernation scenario for classical nova systems. However this interpretation has been challenged. We present 450- and 850-micron photometry of CK Vul which cast further doubt on its old nova status. It displays a large far infrared-submillimetre flux excess, inconsistent with the properties of an old nova. Furthermore, IRAS images show that CK Vul is located in a `cavity' in the infrared emission, a feature often associated with planetary nebulae. It seems more likely that CK Vul - and hence Nova Vul 1670 - is (like V605 Aql and V4334 Sgr) an evolved star in the throes of a final thermal pulse.

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