Prague Relativistic Astrophysics

Steven N. Shore

The otherwise garden variety, almost boring symbiotic stay V407 Cygni turned into one of the most important novae of the last century without warning in Mar. 2010. It made astronomical history by being the first nova detected by the Fermi/LAT in high energy gamma-rays and was observed for more than a year in a multi-site panchromatic campaign in which Ondrejov played an important role. This nova explosion occurred in a wind-dominated binary system and the details of the event illuminate a wide range of previously unrelated and poorly understood astrophysical processes. This talk will highlight some of the physical insights gained from the study of this extraordinary event.