micronova

M3I1C3R1O1N1O1V4A1
UK/ˈmaɪ.kɹo.nəʊ.və/US/ˈmaɪ.kɹo.noʊ.və/

noun

A stellar outburst about one millionth the strength of a classical nova.

Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounmicronova (plural micronovae or micronovas)

plural micronovae · plural micronovas

  1. astronomyA stellar outburst about one millionth the strength of a classical nova.

    The pressure eventually overcomes the outer shell, erupting in a micronova.

    2021, Ben Davidson, The Next End of the World: The Rebirth of Catastrophism, Chapter 5.1, p.42

Origin

Coined by the Douglas Vogt of the Diehold Foundation, later used by Ben Davidson in a similar sense, but since 2022 used in a scientific context to refer to an entirely different phenomenon than the speculative and unscientific one of Vogt and Davidson. From micro- + nova.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic ميكرونوفا
  • ميكرونوفاstellar phenomenon
Chinese 微新星
  • 微新星stellar phenomenon
Dutch micronova
  • micronovastellar phenomenon
Esperanto mikronovao
  • mikronovaostellar phenomenon
Finnish mikronova
  • mikronovastellar phenomenon
French micronova
  • micronovastellar phenomenon
German Mikronova
  • Mikronovastellar phenomenon
Greek μικρονόβα, μικροκαινοφανής
  • μικρονόβα (mikronóva)stellar phenomenon
  • μικροκαινοφανής (mikrokainofanís)stellar phenomenon
Hebrew מיקרונובה
  • מיקרונובהstellar phenomenon
Hindi माइक्रोनोवा
  • माइक्रोनोवा (māikronovā)stellar phenomenon
Italian micronova
  • micronovastellar phenomenon
Persian میکرونووا
  • میکرونوواstellar phenomenon
Polish mikronowa
  • mikronowastellar phenomenon
Romanian micronovă
  • micronovăstellar phenomenon
Russian микроновая, микронова
  • микроновая (mikronovaja)stellar phenomenon
  • микронова (mikronova)stellar phenomenon
Spanish micronova
  • micronovastellar phenomenon
Swedish mikronova
  • mikronovastellar phenomenon
Turkish mikronova
  • mikronovastellar phenomenon

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with micronova

novaMoldovaJehovahVillanovasupernovacasanovapavlovahypernovaCzęstochowaScala NuovaTerra Nova
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

micronova. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/micronova

MLA

“micronova.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/micronova. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “micronova,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/micronova.

Source: micronova on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.