RW Ursae Minoris


RW Ursae Minoris is a cataclysmic variable star system that flared up as a nova in the constellation Ursa Minor in 1956. Before the eruption, it had an apparent magnitude of 21 before flaring up to an approximate magnitude of 6. In 2003, it was still two magnitudes brighter than its baseline, and dimming at a rate of 0.02 magnitude a year. Its distance has been calculated as 5000 ± 800 parsecs, which puts its location in the galactic halo. The Gaia spacecraft however shows it be roughly 1500 parsecs away.