Trivia: what do thermonuclear blasts have that are similar to those of the sun's, only more powerful? The white dwarf. When paired in a binary system with a red giant (a dying, bloated star), the white dwarf will accumulate the red giant's dumped gas leading to a giant thermonuclear explosion also known as 'nova'.

The two-star system (like that of white dwarf and red giant) was dubbed as RS Ophiuchi and is a recurrent nova as it has occurred five times before.

As opposed to previous assumptions that RS Ophiuchi eject matter equally in all directions, recent studies show that the explosion evolved into two lobes with the nova producing twin jets of stellar material that spews out from the white dwarf in opposite directions.

As National Radio Astronomy Observatory astronomer Michael Ru pen said, "The radio images represent the first time we've ever seen the birth of a jet in a white dwarf system. We literally see the jet 'turn on'."

The nova may be a good sight to behold, but its beauty may mean that a more violent supernova explosion will occur in the future.