What is Luminous red nova?
[[File:V838 Mon HST.jpg|200px|right|thumb|[[V838 Monocerotis]] might be a luminous red nova]] A '''luminous red nova''' (''LRN'') is an explosion in space. It is probably caused when two stars [[wikt:merge|merge]] to become one. Their red colour is distinctive. The [[light curve]] near the star stays in the [[infared]]. Luminous red novae are different from normal [[nova]]e. Those are explosions on the surface of [[white dwarf]] stars. ==History and discovery== The first luminous red nova found was in the [[Messier 85]] galaxy. It was discovered when people working at the [[Rickett Observatory]] were searching for [[supernova]]s. [[Astronomer]]s from [[University of California, Berkeley|U.C. Berkeley]] and [[Caltech]] [[wikt:investigate|investigate]]d it. They found that it was different from normal novae and [[thermal pulse]]s. Afterwards, they announced that luminous red novae are a new type of star explosion. More luminous red novae were found after the discovery. Researchers found [[V1309 Scorpii]] in 2008. The star system was a [[contact binary]]. Researchers were studying it for six years before it merged and exploded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/red-nova-stellar-merger-prediction-sky-2017-1|title=Astronomers think a rare and explosive 'red nova' will light up the night sky in a few years|date=6 January 2017|last=Mosher|first=Dave|website=Business Insider|access-date=30 March 2018}}</ref> In 2015, two different luminous red novae were found. One was in the [[Andromeda galaxy]],<ref> {{cite web|title=M31N 2015-01a - A Luminous Red Nova|work=The Astronomer's Telegram|url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=7150|access-date=30 March 2018}}</ref> and the other was in the [[Pinwheel galaxy]].<ref>{{cite web|title=PSN J14021678+5426205 in M 101|work=The Astronomer's Telegram|url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=7206|access-date=30 March 2018}}</ref> Astronomers think that in 2022, [[KIC 9832227]] will merge and become a new luminous red nova. This star system is 1800 [[light