SN 1987A

SN 1987A within the Large Magellanic Cloud

The remnant of SN 1987A^[1]

SN 1987A was a supernova in a small galaxy that is orbiting our Milky Way galaxy. The supernova was 168,000 light years away, and so happened 168,000 years ago. But it was 1987 when it was first seen. It was close enough that scientists found neutrinos before the light got to Earth.^[2]

SN 1987A is the only supernova that has been that close in modern times, It was the brightest object seen from Earth in over 400 years. There have been many others that were closer but they were before scientists had the tools to help them understand what was happening.

"Scientists believe they've finally tracked down the dead remnant from Supernova 1987A – one of their favourite star explosions. Astronomers knew the object must exist but had always struggled to identify its location because of a shroud of obscuring dust".^[3]

SN 1987A Media

Remnant of SN 1987A seen in light overlays of different spectra. ALMA data (radio, in red) shows newly formed dust in the center of the remnant. Hubble (visible, in green) and Chandra (X-ray, in blue) data show the expanding shock wave.
The bright ring around the central region of the exploded star is composed of ejected material.
A V band light curve for SN 1987A. The inset plot shows the time near peak brightness.
The expanding ring-shaped remnant of SN 1987A and its interaction with its surroundings, seen in X-ray and visible light.
Sequence of HST images from 1994 to 2009, showing the collision of the expanding remnant with a ring of material ejected by the progenitor 20,000 years before the supernova

References

↑ "Hubble revisits an old friend". Picture of the Week. European Space Agency/Hubble. 17 October 2011. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
↑ Arnett, W. David; Bahcall, John N.; Kirshner, Robert P.; Woosley, Stanford E. (1989). "Supernova 1987A". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 27: 629–700. Bibcode:1989ARA&A..27..629A. doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.27.090189.003213.
↑ Amos, Jonathan. BBC News Science & Environment. Supernova 1987A: 'Blob' hides long-sought remnant from star blast[1]

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[1] "Hubble revisits an old friend". Picture of the Week. European Space Agency/Hubble. 17 October 2011. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.

[Arnett-2] Arnett, W. David; Bahcall, John N.; Kirshner, Robert P.; Woosley, Stanford E. (1989). "Supernova 1987A". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 27: 629–700. Bibcode:1989ARA&A..27..629A. doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.27.090189.003213.

[3] Amos, Jonathan. BBC News Science & Environment. Supernova 1987A: 'Blob' hides long-sought remnant from star blast[1]

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