The 1978 outburst of the recurrent nova WZ Sagittae

Abstract We give the results of photographic observations of the recurrent nova WZ Sge during its 1978 outburst, between December 5 and 25, using the 40 200 cm double astrograph of Beijing Observatory. We discuss the observed properties and calculate the total energy released during the outburst to be about 1.07 (+40) erg. We estimate that the next outburst will occur around the year 2011.