Novae Unleash Dual Jets: High-Res Images Rewrite Stellar Explosions

High-resolution CHARA Array images of 2021 novae V1674 Herculis and V1405 Cassiopeiae reveal complex, jet-driven eruptions in binary white-dwarf systems, including perpendicular outflows and a delayed ejection likely tied to a common-envelope phase. The gamma-ray signals observed by NASA’s Fermi coincide with internal shocks in the debris, linking surface nuclear reactions to high-energy radiation and challenging the idea of novae as simple spherical shells. These findings, published in Nature Astronomy, position novae as natural laboratories for extreme physics.