Tag Archive for 'SN 1987A'

Webb observed the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star in SN 1987A. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / C. Fransson, Stockholm University / M. Matsuura, Cardiff University / M.J. Barlow, University College London / P.J. Kavanagh, Maynooth University / J. Larsson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Webb Detects Emission from Neutron Star in Supernova 1987A Remnant

Feb 23, 2024 by News Staff

SN 1987A is the only supernova visible to the naked eye in the last 400 years and the most studied supernova in history. The event was a core-collapse...

This is an artist's impression of the SN 1987A remnant. The image is based on real data and reveals the cold, inner regions of the remnant, in red, where tremendous amounts of dust were detected and imaged by ALMA. This inner region is contrasted with the outer shell, lacy white and blue circles, where the blast wave from the supernova is colliding with the envelope of gas ejected from the star prior to its powerful detonation. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Alexandra Angelich, NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Astronomers Employ Novel Technique for Searching for Alien Technosignatures

Feb 13, 2024 by News Staff

Technosignatures are any measurable property that may provide evidence of extraterrestrial technology. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI)...

This image of SNR 1987A was taken with Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera. At the center, material ejected from the supernova forms a keyhole shape. Just to its left and right are faint crescents newly discovered by Webb. Beyond them an equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots. Exterior to that is diffuse emission and two faint outer rings. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / M. Matsuura, Cardiff University / R. Arendt, NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center & University of Maryland, Baltimore County / C. Fransson.

Webb Focuses on Supernova 1987A Remnant

Aug 31, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have begun the study of SNR 1987A, one of the most renowned supernova remnants. This image...

SN 1987A: the panel on the left contains a 3D computer simulation, based on Chandra data, of the supernova debris from SN 1987A crashing into a surrounding ring of material; the artist’s illustration (right panel) depicts a so-called pulsar wind nebula, a web of particles and energy blown away from a pulsar, which is a rotating, highly magnetized neutron star. Image credit: NASA / Chandra / CXC / University di Palermo / E. Greco / INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo / Salvatore Orlando.

Astronomers Finally Find Neutron Star in Famous Supernova Remnant

Feb 26, 2021 by News Staff

Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A) was first observed on February 23, 1987 in a nearby dwarf galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, some 164,000 light-years away....

An artist’s illustration of SN 1987A. Image credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF / B. Saxton.

ALMA May Have Found Neutron Star in Supernova Remnant SN 1987A

Jul 31, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have found new evidence that a very young neutron star is hiding deep inside...

This image of the Tarantula Nebula combines data from multiple Spitzer observations, most recently in February and September 2019. The image shows the nebula in two wavelengths of infrared light, each represented by a different color. The red color at the heart of the nebula shows the presence of particularly hot gas emitting infrared light at a wavelength of 4.5 micrometers. The blue regions are dust composed of molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Regions emitting both wavelengths appear white. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Spitzer Sees Tarantula Nebula in Infrared Light

Jan 28, 2020 by News Staff

Using data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, which is set to be retired on January 30, 2020, astronomers have generated a new view of the Tarantula...

A red, green, blue composite image of the Large Magellanic Cloud made from radio wavelength observations at 123, 181 and 227 MHz. At these wavelengths, emission from cosmic rays and the hot gases belonging to the star forming regions and supernova remnants of the galaxy are visible. Image credit: International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research.

Astronomers Create Cosmic-Ray Maps of Magellanic Clouds

Sep 6, 2018 by News Staff

By observing two neighboring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud, using the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope in...

Researchers Observe Magnetic Field Generated by Supernova Remnant 1987A

Jun 29, 2018 by News Staff

The detection of a radial magnetic field across the inner ring of SNR 1987A, the remnant of a supernova first witnessed three decades ago, provides insight...

Supernova Remnant SN 1987A Reveals Clues to How Stars are Born

Jul 11, 2017 by News Staff

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), two teams of astronomers have discovered a rich inventory of molecules at the center of...

This Hubble image shows the remnant of SN 1987A within the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The image was taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in January 2017. SN 1987A is located in the center of the image amidst a backdrop of stars. The bright ring around the central region of the exploded star is composed of material ejected by the star about 20,000 years before the actual explosion took place. The supernova is surrounded by gaseous clouds. The clouds’ red color represents the glow of hydrogen gas. The colors of the foreground and background stars were added from observations taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). Image credit: NASA / ESA / R. Kirshner, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation / P. Challis, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Hubble Snaps 30th Anniversary Image of SN 1987A Remnant

Feb 25, 2017 by News Staff

This new image of the remnant of core-collapse Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A) was taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in January 2017. This Hubble...

This is the core of a Type II supernova at the onset of explosion: neutrinos that are emitted from the protoneutron at the center are absorbed by the gas behind the shock front, heat up this gas, and drive turbulence; eventually an asymmetric explosion develops. Image credit: Christian Ott, California Institute of Technology / Steve Drasco, Cal Poly San Luis Obsipo.

Type II Supernovae Explode in Lopsided Fashion, Astronomers Say

May 8, 2015 by News Staff

New observations of the remnant of Supernova (SN) 1987A from NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) are confirming predictions made at...

Different views of the remnant of SN 1987A. Upper left panel: SNR1987A as seen by Hubble in 2010. Upper right panel: SNR1987A as seen by the Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. Bottom panel: a computer generated visualisation of the remnant showing the possible location of a pulsar. Image credit: ATCA / ALMA / G. Zanardo et al / NASA / ESA / K. France, University of Colorado, Boulder / P. Challis and R. Kirshner, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Scientists Examine Remnant of Supernova SN 1987A

Nov 11, 2014 by News Staff

A team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) in New South...

Astronomers Capture Fresh Dust in Supernova 1987A Remnant

Jan 6, 2014 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have directly imaged the huge amounts of freshly formed dust in the remnant of...