25th Anniv: Supernova 1987A

Supernova 1987A

StarDate

February 21, 2012

Stellar Ghost

The aftermath of the brightest and closest supernova in four centuries shines from the Large Magellanic Cloud, a companion galaxy to Earth, in this composite 1990s image from Hubble Space Telescope. Supernova 1987A is the bright star encircled by red rings left of center. It was discovered in February 1987, and astronomers are still studying it intensely today. It was born from a star that was much bigger and heavier than the Sun. The star's core collapsed and its outer layers were blasted into space. As debris from the explosion hit clouds of dust and gas around the original star, it formed the bright rings seen in this image. The supernova was about 170,000 light-years from Earth.[Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)]

On the night of February 23rd, 1987, telescope operator Oscar Duhalde stepped outside to admire the skies above the Andes Mountains of Chile. As he looked at a fuzzy patch of light known as the Large Magellanic Cloud — a small companion galaxy to the Milky Way — he saw a tiny star where none had been before. After talking to other astronomers, he realized that he was seeing something that no one had seen with their own eyes in almost four centuries: a supernova — the catastrophic death of a star.

MORE - SUPERNOVA 1987A - Part I:

>>> http://stardate.org/radio/program/supernova-1987a

MORE - SUPERNOVA 1987A - Part II:

>>> http://stardate.org/radio/program/supernova-1987a-ii

MORE - SUPERNOVA 1987A - Part III:

>>> http://stardate.org/radio/program/supernova-1987a-iii

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
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