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1
Illustration of Dynamics of Supernova 1987A
Long ago, the massive star that produced Supernova 1987A lost most of its outer layers in a slowly moving stellar wind that formed a vast cloud of gas. Before the star exploded, a high-speed wind from the star carved out a cavity in the cool gas cloud. The red ring in the illustration represents the inner edge of the cloud of cool gas. The fingers protruding inward were produced by the interaction of the high-speed wind with the dense circumstellar cloud. The collision of the outward-moving supernova shock wave (yellow) with the dense fingers of cool gas produce bright spots (white) of optical and X-ray emission. The expanding debris (blue) of the exploded star lags behind the shock wave and, except for a thin shell around the outer edge (gold), is too cool to produce X-rays.
(Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
Long ago, the massive star that produced Supernova 1987A lost most of its outer layers in a slowly moving stellar wind that formed a vast cloud of gas. Before the star exploded, a high-speed wind from the star carved out a cavity in the cool gas cloud. The red ring in the illustration represents the inner edge of the cloud of cool gas. The fingers protruding inward were produced by the interaction of the high-speed wind with the dense circumstellar cloud. The collision of the outward-moving supernova shock wave (yellow) with the dense fingers of cool gas produce bright spots (white) of optical and X-ray emission. The expanding debris (blue) of the exploded star lags behind the shock wave and, except for a thin shell around the outer edge (gold), is too cool to produce X-rays.
(Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
2
Multiple Chandra X-ray Images and Full Field Hubble Optical Image of Supernova 1987A
Chandra X-ray images of Supernova 1987A reveal a ring of multimillion-degree gas produced by the collision of an outward-moving supernova shock wave with a ring of cool circumstellar gas. The full field optical image (lower right), taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a ring of bright spots that are also caused by the shock wave hitting the cool gas.
Scale: Each X-ray panel is 2.4 arcsec per side
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.; Optical: NASA/STScI/CfA/P.Challis)
Chandra X-ray images of Supernova 1987A reveal a ring of multimillion-degree gas produced by the collision of an outward-moving supernova shock wave with a ring of cool circumstellar gas. The full field optical image (lower right), taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a ring of bright spots that are also caused by the shock wave hitting the cool gas.
Scale: Each X-ray panel is 2.4 arcsec per side
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.; Optical: NASA/STScI/CfA/P.Challis)
3
Chandra X-ray Images of Supernova 1987A
These X-ray images of Supernova 1987A were taken between January 17, 2000 and January 09, 2005. Chandra observations have revealed new details about the fiery ring surrounding the stellar explosion that produced Supernova 1987A. The data give insight into the behavior of the doomed star in the years before it exploded, and indicate that the predicted spectacular brightening of the circumstellar ring has begun.
Scale: Each panel is 2.4 arcsec per side
(Credit: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.)
These X-ray images of Supernova 1987A were taken between January 17, 2000 and January 09, 2005. Chandra observations have revealed new details about the fiery ring surrounding the stellar explosion that produced Supernova 1987A. The data give insight into the behavior of the doomed star in the years before it exploded, and indicate that the predicted spectacular brightening of the circumstellar ring has begun.
Scale: Each panel is 2.4 arcsec per side
(Credit: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.)
4
Chandra X-ray & Hubble Optical Composite of Supernova 1987A
Supernova 1987A occurred in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy only 160,000 light years from Earth. The outburst was visible to the naked eye, and is the brightest known supernova in almost 400 years. Optical hot-spots (pink-white) now encircle the ring like a necklace of incandescent diamonds. The Chandra data (blue-purple) reveals multimillion-degree gas at the location of the optical hot-spots.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.; Optical: NASA/STScI/CfA/P.Challis)
Supernova 1987A occurred in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy only 160,000 light years from Earth. The outburst was visible to the naked eye, and is the brightest known supernova in almost 400 years. Optical hot-spots (pink-white) now encircle the ring like a necklace of incandescent diamonds. The Chandra data (blue-purple) reveals multimillion-degree gas at the location of the optical hot-spots.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.; Optical: NASA/STScI/CfA/P.Challis)
5
Hubble Optical Images of Supernova 1987A
Long ago, the massive star that produced Supernova 1987A lost most of its outer layers in a slowly moving stellar wind that formed a vast cloud of gas. Before the star exploded, a high-speed wind from the star carved out a cavity in the cool gas cloud. The red ring in the illustration represents the inner edge of the cloud of cool gas. The fingers protruding inward were produced by the interaction of the high-speed wind with the dense circumstellar cloud. The collision of the outward-moving supernova shock wave (yellow) with the dense fingers of cool gas produce bright spots (white) of optical and X-ray emission. The expanding debris (blue) of the exploded star lags behind the shock wave and, except for a thin shell around the outer edge (gold), is too cool to produce X-rays.
(Credit: NASA/STScI/CfA/P.Challis)
Long ago, the massive star that produced Supernova 1987A lost most of its outer layers in a slowly moving stellar wind that formed a vast cloud of gas. Before the star exploded, a high-speed wind from the star carved out a cavity in the cool gas cloud. The red ring in the illustration represents the inner edge of the cloud of cool gas. The fingers protruding inward were produced by the interaction of the high-speed wind with the dense circumstellar cloud. The collision of the outward-moving supernova shock wave (yellow) with the dense fingers of cool gas produce bright spots (white) of optical and X-ray emission. The expanding debris (blue) of the exploded star lags behind the shock wave and, except for a thin shell around the outer edge (gold), is too cool to produce X-rays.
(Credit: NASA/STScI/CfA/P.Challis)
6
Chandra X-ray Images of Supernova 1987A
Chandra observations have revealed new details about the fiery ring surrounding the stellar explosion that produced Supernova 1987A. The data give insight into the behavior of the doomed star in the years before it exploded, and indicate that the predicted spectacular brightening of the circumstellar ring has begun.
Scale: Each panel is 2.4 arcsec per side
(Credit: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.)
Chandra observations have revealed new details about the fiery ring surrounding the stellar explosion that produced Supernova 1987A. The data give insight into the behavior of the doomed star in the years before it exploded, and indicate that the predicted spectacular brightening of the circumstellar ring has begun.
Scale: Each panel is 2.4 arcsec per side
(Credit: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.)
7
Chandra X-ray Image with Scale Bar
Scalebar: 0.5 arcsec
(Credit: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.)
Scalebar: 0.5 arcsec
(Credit: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park & D.Burrows.)
Return to Supernova 1987A (17 Aug 05)
Revised: July 16, 2008