A "new star" is shining in the constellation Lupus thanks to an unexpected stellar explosion within the Milky Way — and it can currently be seen with the naked eye from parts of North America.
On June 12, astronomers from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae at Ohio State University first spotted the new point of light, which had an apparent magnitude of +8.7 at the time, still too dim to be seen by the naked eye, Sky & Telescope originally reported. (A smaller magnitude signifies a brighter object; for example, the moon has an apparent magnitude of -12.7).
