every few weeks. The normal outbursts typically last 2-3 days, while a superoutburst lasts a few weeks. However, WZ Sagittae is unusual in that it is only observed to emit superbursts.

The outbursts of a dwarf nova are caused when matter from a ring-like accretion disk becomes unstable. In this system, the companion star is sufficiently close to the white dwarf that the tidal bulge of the former overlaps the Roche limit, allowing matter to pass across and accumulate onto the disk. When the disk reaches