Citizen astronomers see moment star explodes by playing ‘spot the difference’ - A cataclysmic variable star was found as part of a project using two telescopes from opposite sides of the world.

Citizen scientists using the Kilonova Seekers platform spotted a stellar flash 2,500 times brighter than before, allowing astronomers to identify the exploding cataclysmic variable GOTO0650 within hours.

Astronomers at the University of Warwick have found a new exploding star in the sky but they said they would not have been able to do it without a team of amateur citizen scientists alerting them to what is going on.