J/MNRAS/517/6150ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/517/6150CDSSchaefer B.E.2026-03-04T09:35:28Z2026-03-04T10:17:03ZCDS support team

CDS, Observatoire de Strasbourg, 11 rue de l'Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg, France

cds-question@unistra.frmilky-way-galaxygalaxy-planesgalactic-centervariable-starsstellar-distanceastronomical-object-identificationphotometryvisible-astronomyextinctiontrigonometric-parallaxstellar-spectral-typesgalaxy-kinematicsabsolute-magnitudeI derive the overall best distances for all 402 known Galactic novae, and I collect their many properties. The centrepiece is the 74 novae with accurate parallaxes from the new Gaia data release. For the needed priors, I have collected 171 distances based on old methods (including expansion parallaxes and extinction distances). Further, I have collected the V-magnitudes at peak and the extinction measures, so as to produce absolute magnitudes at peak and then derive a crude distance as a prior. Further, I have recognized that 41 per cent of the known novae are concentrated in the bulge, with 68 per cent of these <5.4{deg} from the Galactic Centre, so the 165 bulge novae must have distances of 8000 +/- 750 parsecs. Putting this all together, I have derived distances to all 402 novae, of which 220 have distances to an accuracy of better than 30 per cent. I find that the disc novae have an exponential scale height of 140 +/- 10 pc. The average peak absolute V-magnitude is -7.45, with an RMS scatter of 1.33 mag. These peak luminosities are significantly correlated with the decline rate (t3 in days) as M_V,peak_ = -7.6 + 1.5log (t3/30). The huge scatter about this relation masks the correlation in many smaller data sets, and makes this relation useless for physical models. The bulge novae are indistinguishable from the disc novae in all properties, except that the novae with red giant companion stars have a strong preference for residing in the bulge population.2022MNRAS.517.6150Shttps://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/MNRAS/517/6150CatalogResearchIsServedByTAP VizieR generic serviceIsServedByConesearch servicerelated-toJ/MNRAS/505/5978 : Gaia EDR3 view on Galactic globular clustersJ/ApJ/935/44 : LAT Gamma-ray spectra of RS Oph 2021 nova (Cheung+, 2022)J/ApJ/788/164 : Properties of the known Galactic classical novaeJ/ApJS/187/275 : Photometric histories of recurrent novae (Schaefer, 2010)J/AJ/140/34 : Classification of nova light curves (Strope+, 2010)V/123 : Catalog of Cataclysmic Variables (Downes+ 2001-2006)V/110 : Catalog of Cataclysmic Variables (Downes+ 2001)I/355 : Gaia DR3 Part 1. Main source (Gaia Collaboration, 2022)I/337 : Gaia DR1 (Gaia Collaboration, 2016)B/vsx : AAVSO International Variable Star Index VSX (Watson+, 2006)B/gcvs : General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+, 2007-2017)https://cds.unistra.fr/vizier-org/licences_vizier.htmlhttps://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/MNRAS/517/6150https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/MNRAS/517/6150http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/MNRAS/517/6150https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/votable?-source=J/MNRAS/517/6150https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/votable?-source=J/MNRAS/517/6150http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/votable?-source=J/MNRAS/517/6150GETtext/xml+votablehttps://tapvizier.cds.unistra.fr/TAPVizieR/tapCone search capability for table J/MNRAS/517/6150/table1 (Compilation of nova distances from old computational methods)https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table1?https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table1?http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table1?GETtext/xml+votable180.050000true348.02447.47213890.005555555555555556Cone search capability for table J/MNRAS/517/6150/table3 (Collected V_peak_ and E(B-V) from literature and deduced {mu}_peak_ for our galactic novae)https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table3?https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table3?http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table3?GETtext/xml+votable180.050000true348.02447.47213890.005555555555555556Cone search capability for table J/MNRAS/517/6150/table4 (Bulge/Disc population identification for {Theta}_GC_<20{deg} sorted by {Theta}_GC_)https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table4?https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table4?http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table4?GETtext/xml+votable180.050000true267.488875-29.24386110.005555555555555556Cone search capability for table J/MNRAS/517/6150/table5 (Gaia parallaxes and magnitudes of Galactic novae)https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table5?https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table5?http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table5?GETtext/xml+votable180.050000true348.02447.47213890.005555555555555556Cone search capability for table J/MNRAS/517/6150/table6 (Distances and fundamental properties of all known Galactic novae)https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table6?https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table6?http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/MNRAS/517/6150/table6?GETtext/xml+votable180.050000true348.02447.47213890.0055555555555555565/7216-7217 6/27 1694 1800 1807 2922 3096 3588 3752 4828 6319 7980 8474 8669 12114 12888 12910 12962 12977 12984 13216 13224 13227 13285-13286 13800 13975 13999 14024 14201 14226 14228 14248 14254 14293 14316 14320 14336 14393 14409 14412 14424 14433 14447 14498 14630 14634 14651 14694 14720 14847 15014 15036 15385-15386 15502 15589 20807 21705 22076 22247 22628 23617 23749 24118 24405 24487 24506 28675 28687 28702 28705 28707 28710-28711 28713 28715-28716 28718-28720 28724-28725 28727-28730 28732 28734-28735 28741 28746 28758 28762 28764-28765 28769 28771-28772 28780 28782-28783 28786-28787 28790 28792-28793 28798-28800 28804 28816 28820-28821 28823 28828 28833 28844 28848 28850 28856-28858 28860 28863 28872-28873 28875-28876 28879 28881-28882 28885 28887 28893 28895 28898 28904 28906-28908 28910 28923 28960 28971 28973 29002 29035 29059 29062-29063 29069 29071 29084 29093 29100 29104-29105 29109 29152 29155 29161 29167 29176 29184 29186 29190-29191 29203 29205 29209-29210 29214 29249 29251 29254 29261 29265 29268 29272 29276 29279-29280 29285 29287 29293 29308 29441 29459 29478-29479 29487 29503 29509 29524 29530 29538 29664 29832 29871 29900 30208-30209 30211 30215 30227 30231 30236 30239-30240 30257 30284 30294 30300 30303 30306 30313 30315 30324 30331 30357 30389 30474 30498 30500 30502 30505 30521 30543 30601 30607 30640 30643 30652 30683 30697 30699 30701 30717 30788 30970 31043 31866 31942 32006 32017 32048 32074 32121 32575 33621 37204 37214 37236 37240 37335 37700 37824 37862 37888 37904 37910 37921-37922 37933 37961 37994 38045 38919 39397 39409 39545 39756 39775 39888 39890 39991 40460 41006 41434 41534 41543 41565 41571 41583 41594 41647 41671-41672 41674 41696 41713 41720 41738 41746 41766 41822 41852 41860 41876 41913 42143 42156 42169 42233 42271 42351 42364 42367 42378 42387 42409 42419 42422 42428 42434 42443 42453 42464-42465 42470 42475-42476 42487 42493-42494 42540 42630 42823 42837 42842 42990 43031 43043 43080 44381 47805 47822 47851 47864 48026https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/moc/J/MNRAS/517/6150?format=asciiOpticaldefaultJ/MNRAS/517/6150/table1Compilation of nova distances from old computational methodsrecnoRecord number assigned by the VizieR team. Should Not be used for identification.meta.recordintNovaNova name as in GCVS catalog (Nova)meta.id;meta.maincharl_DLower limits flag of D for 29 cases for extinction method onesmeta.code.errorcharDThe old distance from literature references (D_old_)pcpos.distanceintl_DMLower limits flag of DM for 29 cases for extinction method onesmeta.code.errorcharDMThe associated distance modulus as 5*log(D_old_)-5 ({mu}_old_)magphot.mag.distMod;arith;meta.modelledfloate_DMAssigned 1{sigma} error bar uncertainty of DM (1{sigma}{mu}_old_)magstat.errorfloatMethodComputation method for the old distance (Method) (1)meta.notecharSimbadNameSimbad column added by the CDSmeta.idcharnullable_RARight Ascension (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.ra;meta.main_DEDeclination (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.dec;meta.mainJ/MNRAS/517/6150/table3Collected V_peak_ and E(B-V) from literature and deduced {mu}_peak_ for our galactic novaeSimbadNameSimbad column added by the CDSmeta.idcharnullablerecnoRecord number assigned by the VizieR team. Should Not be used for identification.meta.recordintNovaNova name as in GCVS catalog (Nova)meta.id;meta.maincharl_VpeakUpper limit flag of Vpeak for 121 casesmeta.code.errorcharVpeak? Brightest magnitude observed peak in V-band light curves (V_peak_)magphot.mag;em.opt.Vfloatnullablee_Vpeak? Assigned 1{sigma} error bar uncertainty of Vpeak (errV_peak_)magstat.errorfloatnullableE(B-V)Extinction color excess B-V magnitude as A_V_/3.1 from literatures references (EB-V)magphot.color.excessfloate_E(B-V)Assigned 1{sigma} error bar uncertainty of E (B-V) (errEB-V)magstat.errorfloatl_DMpeakUpper limit flag of DMpeak for 121 casesmeta.code.errorcharDMpeak? Distance modulus from Vpeak, E(B-V) and average M_V,peak_ = -7.0 +/- 1.4 mag as V_peak -3.1*E(B-V) - (-7.0) ({mu}_peak_)magphot.mag.distMod;arith;meta.modelledfloatnullablee_DMpeak? Casual propaged DMpeak uncertainty from each terms e_Vpeak, e_E(B-V) and errM_V,peak_ (err{mu}_peak_)magstat.errorfloatnullable_RARight Ascension (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.ra;meta.main_DEDeclination (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.dec;meta.mainJ/MNRAS/517/6150/table4Bulge/Disc population identification for {Theta}_GC_<20{deg} sorted by {Theta}_GC_e_DMold? 1{sigma} error bar uncertainty of DMold from table1.dat (1{sigma}{mu}_old_)magstat.errorfloatnullablel_DMpeakUpper limit flag of DMpeak from table3.datmeta.code.errorcharDMpeakDistance modulus with Vpeak estimates from table3.dat ({mu}_peak_)magphot.mag.distMod;arith;meta.modelledfloate_DMpeakPropaged DMpeak uncertainty from table3.dat (err{mu}_peak_)magstat.errorfloatPlx? The GaiaDR3 absolute stellar parallax of the source at the Ep=2016.0 ({omega})maspos.parallaxfloatnullableSimbadNameSimbad column added by the CDSmeta.idcharnullablePopPopulation identification (Population) (1)src.classcharrecnoRecord number assigned by the VizieR team. Should Not be used for identification.meta.recordintNovaNova name as in GCVS catalog (Nova)meta.id;meta.maincharThetaAngular distance of the nova from the galactic centre (Theta_GC_)degpos.angDistancefloatl_DMoldLower limits flag of DM from table1.datmeta.code.errorcharDMold? Distance modulus with old methods from table1.dat ({mu}_old_)magphot.mag.distMod;arith;meta.modelledfloatnullablee_Plx? The GaiaDR3 standard error of the stellar parallax at Ep=2016.0 (err{omega})masstat.error;pos.parallaxfloatnullable_RARight Ascension (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.ra;meta.main_DEDeclination (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.dec;meta.mainJ/MNRAS/517/6150/table5Gaia parallaxes and magnitudes of Galactic novaeSimbadNameSimbad column added by the CDSmeta.idcharnullablerecnoRecord number assigned by the VizieR team. Should Not be used for identification.meta.recordintNovaNova name as in GCVS catalog (Nova)meta.id;meta.maincharPlx? The GaiaDR3 absolute stellar parallax of the source at the Ep=2016.0 ({omega})maspos.parallaxfloatnullablee_Plx? The GaiaDR3 standard error of the stellar parallax at Ep=2016.0 (err{omega})masstat.error;pos.parallaxfloatnullableBPmag? Integrated BP mean magnitude from GaiaDR3 (b)magphot.mag;em.opt.BfloatnullableGmag? G-band mean magnitude from GaiaDR3 (g)magphot.mag;em.optfloatnullableRPmag? Integrated RP mean magnitude from GaiaDR3 (r)magphot.mag;em.opt.Rfloatnullable_RARight Ascension (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.ra;meta.main_DEDeclination (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.dec;meta.mainJ/MNRAS/517/6150/table6Distances and fundamental properties of all known Galactic novaeFWHM? Full-Width-at-Half-Maximum of H{alpha} emission line around time of peak (FWHM) (4)km/sspect.line.widthintnullableP? Orbital period (P) (5)dtime.perioddoublenullablePopPopulation identification (Population) (6)src.classcharDBest estimate of nova distance from probability distribution as explained in section 6 (D)pcpos.distance;meta.modelledintb_D16th percentile value of the distance probability distributionpcpos.distance;stat.probabilityintB_D84th percentile value of the distance probability distributionpcpos.distance;stat.probabilityintl_VMagUpper limit flag of VMagmeta.code.errorcharVMag? Absolute magnitude at emission peak in the V-band calculated from the Vpeak, E(B-V) and D with full extinction correction (M_V,peak_)magphys.magAbs;em.opt.Vfloatnullablee_VMag? Assigned 1{sigma} error bar uncertainty of VMag (errM_V,peak_)magstat.error;phot.magfloatnullableSimbadNameSimbad column added by the CDSmeta.idcharnullablerecnoRecord number assigned by the VizieR team. Should Not be used for identification.meta.recordintNovaNova name as in GCVS catalog (Nova)meta.id;meta.maincharl_YearUpper limit flag of Yearmeta.code.errorcharf_YearFlag for 4 "~" approximated Year or for 10 "RN" recurrent novae with multiple eruptions casesmeta.codecharYear? Year of the emission peak (Year)yrtime.epochfloatnullableLCLight curve class according to the divisions of Strope et al. 2010AJ....140...34S, Cat. J/AJ/140/34 (LC) (1)meta.code;src.varchart3? The number of days from the nova peak until the last time it fades below 3.0 mag under the emission peak (t_3_)dtime.intervalfloatnullablel_VpeakUpper limit flag of Vpeak for 121 cases from table3.datmeta.code.errorcharVpeak? Brightest magnitude observed peak in V-band light curves from table3.dat (V_peak_) (2)magphot.mag;stat.max;em.opt.Vfloatnullablee_Vpeak? Assigned 1{sigma} error bar uncertainty of Vpeak from table3.dat (errV_peak_)magstat.errorfloatnullableSpTypeSpectral types (Spec) (3)src.spTypecharGLONGalactic longitude (l)degpos.galactic.lonGLATGalactic latitude (b)degpos.galactic.latfloatThetaAngle between the nova and the galactic centre ({Theta}_GC_)degpos.angDistance;pos.galacticfloatE(B-V)Final value of extinction from Earth to the nova with V-band absorption A(V) as 3.1*E (B-V) (EB-V) (7)magphot.color.excessfloate_E(B-V)Assigned 1{sigma} error bar uncertainty of E (B-V) (errEB-V)magstat.errorfloatt2? The number of days from the nova highest peak until the last time it fades below the 2.0 mag of the emission peak (t_2_)dtime.intervalfloatnullablePlx? The GaiaDR3 absolute stellar parallax of the source at the Ep=2016.0 as in table5.dat ({omega})maspos.parallaxfloatnullablee_Plx? The GaiaDR3 1{sigma} standard error of the stellar parallax at Ep=2016.0 as in table5.dat (err{omega})masstat.error;pos.parallaxfloatnullablePropVarious unusual properties for each nova (Properties) (8)meta.codecharGCVSDisplay the GCVS datameta.ref.urlcharAAVSODisplay the VSX B/vsx datameta.ref.urlcharGaiaDR3Display GaiaDR3 datameta.ref.urlchar_RARight Ascension (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.ra;meta.main_DEDeclination (J2000) from SIMBAD (not part of the original data)degpos.eq.dec;meta.main