Eighteen years of coordinated novae studies

Abstract

IUE data have been of fundamental importance to increase our knowledge of the nova outburst phenomenon. The Ultraviolet range provides crucial and in part unique information both about the physics of the ejection and the physical state of the ejected matter. The characteristics of IUE made it particularly well suited for the study of novae, allowing observations at the earliest stages of the outburst and the coordination with other observing facilities to perform multiwavelength studies. The IUE archive contains more than 1500 spectra of novae. Most of the low resolution data have been extensively used, but only a small fraction of the high resolution spectra have been analyzed. This data set constitutes a valuable reference for the planning an the analysis of the observations of novae with future UV experiments.