Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Nova \No"va\ (n[=o]"v[.a]), n.; pl. L. {Nov[ae]} (-v[=e]), E.
   {Novas} (-v[.a]z). [L., fem. sing. of novus new.] (Astron.)
   A new star, usually appearing suddenly, shining for a brief
   period, and then sinking into obscurity. Such appearances are
   supposed to result from cosmic collisions, as of a dark star
   with interstellar nebulosities.

   Note: The most important modern nov[ae] are:

   {No"va Co*ro"n[ae] Bo`re*a"lis}[1866];

   {No"va Cyg"ni}[1876];

   {No"va An*dro"me*d[ae]}[1885];

   {No"va Au*ri"g[ae]}[1891-92];

   {No"va Per"se*i}[1901]. There are two nov[ae] called {Nova
      Persei}. They are:
   (a) A small nova which appeared in 1881.
   (b) An extraordinary nova which appeared in Perseus in 1901.
       It was first sighted on February 22, and for one night
       (February 23) was the brightest star in the sky. By July
       it had almost disappeared, after which faint surrounding
       nebulous masses were discovered, apparently moving
       radially outward from the star at incredible velocity.

Source : WordNet®

nova
     n : a star that ejects some of its material in the form of a
         cloud and become more luminous in the process
     [also: {novae} (pl)]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Nova
     
         A {minicomputer}(?), introduced some time before
        1978, with four 16-bit {accumulator}s, AC0 to AC3 and a 15 bit
        {program counter}.  A later model also had a 15-bit {stack
        pointer} and {frame pointer}.  AC2 and AC3 could be used for
        indexed addresses and AC3 was used to store the return address
        on a {subroutine} call.  Apart from the small {register set},
        the NOVA was an ordinary {CPU} design.
     
        Memory could be access indirectly through addresses stored in
        other memory locations.  If locations 0 to 3 were used for
        this purpose, they were auto-incremented after being used.  If
        locations 4 to 7 were used, they were auto-decremented.
        Memory could be addressed in 16-bit words up to a maximum of
        32K words (64K bytes).  The instruction cycle time was 500
        {nanoseconds}(?) cycle time for each.  The Nova originally
        used {core memory} though later on they gained {dynamic RAM}.
     
        Like the {PDP-8}, the {Data General} Nova was also copied, not
        just in one, but two implementations - the {Data General
        MN601} and {Fairchild 9440}.  Luckily, the NOVA was a more
        mature design than the PDP-8.
     
        Another CPU, the {PACE}, was based on the NOVA design, but
        featured 16-bit addresses (instead of the Nova's 15), more
        {addressing mode}s and a 10-level {stack} (like the {Intel
        8008}).
     
        [Date, speed, mini?]
     
        (1996-03-01)