Another thing that bothers me, isn't the plural of nova novae? Sorry, I took Greek rather than Latin, so I can't say for sure. Maybe I remember the spelling from my epoch 1970 Nortons.
Seems to be novae every time I see it in the literature. But for someone with my background (strictly low class blue collar), that’s too uppity for me! Depending on whom (yikes!) I’m talking to, I’ll almost always say novas.
You’re correct, the plural is novae. Most journalists are not well-versed in grammar, spelling, Latin or Greek. Don’t get me started about how they mangle homonyms.