Go to: STAR BURST When big stars go supernova, the detonation is fatal. But when smaller stars explode, they often bounce back and shine again. How long does the recovery take? Astronomers using the XMM-Newton Space Telescope determined that the star V2487 Oph, which went nova in 1998, resumed its normal behavior in just 2.7 years, much faster than expected since the nova burst released about 100,000 times more energy than the sun does in a year. (10/16/02)