Today in the history of astronomy, NASA announces new details about our neighborhood supernova.
Hubble’s 1990 image of Supernova 1987A revealed a glowing ring of hydrogen around the remains of what was once a star. Credit: NASA, ESA, and STScI
- Supernova 1987A, resulting from the death of a massive star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, first became visible on Earth on February 23, 1987.
- The Hubble Space Telescope, beginning in 1990, captured high-resolution images of SN 1987A, providing detailed observations of the supernova remnant.
- Hubble observations in August 1990 revealed a previously unseen, approximately 1.3 light-year-wide elliptical ring of material surrounding the supernova remnants, identified as the remains of a stellar envelope ejected ~10,000 years prior to the star’s death.
- Subsequent observations by Hubble, Chandra, and ALMA have continued to provide data on SN 1987A, furthering the understanding of stellar evolution and generating additional research questions.
The first light from the explosion that was the death of a massive star in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud reached Earth on Feb. 23, 1987. Supernova 1987A’s proximity gave astronomers unprecedented access into the final stages of stellar life, and in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope began taking high-res images of the former star. Then, on Aug. 29 of that year, NASA announced that Aug. 23-24 observations had resolved a ring of material around the supernova remnants in unparalleled detail: Hubble revealed the glowing remains of the explosion were surrounded by an elliptical halo about 1.3 light-years across. The star had ejected hydrogen about 10,000 years before its death, and the luminescent ring was the remains of that stellar envelope. Hubble and other observatories, including Chandra and the Atacama Large Milimeter/submilimeter Array (ALMA), have continued to image SN 1987A since, providing astronomers with insights into stellar evolution and death – and further questions and unknowns to investigate.
