The Great Magellanic Cloud is 168,000 light years away, and on the night of February 23, 1987, astronomers Ian Shelton and Oscar Duhalde are on duty at the observatory in Las Campanas, Chile, when they point their instruments in its direction.
One of the most well-known cosmic explosions and one of the brightest star explosions ever seen turned out to be that light! While the explosion was known as SN 1987A, the exploding star was known as Sanduleak -69, 202a. It is the most recent, brightest, and closest supernova. It was so dazzling that even the unaided eye could see it as it unleashed energy equivalent to 100 million suns! The last supernova to be seen with the naked eye was the so-called "Kepler supernova" in 1604; this one was the first since the development of the telescope. Only eight supernovae may be seen with the naked eye in total.
Of course, this is not the only reason why the SN 1987A is famous. More than 30 years after its discovery, researchers are still looking into its amazing qualities. And the image that currently appears before our eyes captures it in all its beauty.
Look at this ring of several lightbulbs that surrounds the remnants of the exploding star! Think about how the first lightbulb formed just ten years after the supernova explosion: the burst of radiation from the explosion really heated a ring of material that was ejected to the point of being highly dazzling 20,000 years before the main explosion. The luminous bulbs have multiplied to hundreds during the next 20 years, and in a few years, the entire ring will likely be entirely on fire!
The two symmetrically visible red bands "above and under" the supernova, which are still of unknown origin, are another unsolved mystery.
In all, there are two stars in precisely symmetrical positions, almost like two external observers; they are "simply" two stars of the Great Magellan Cloud that are unrelated to the exploded star.
However, there was a further signal thanks to the Chandra telescope: up until 2013, the Chandra data showed an X-ray ring around SN 1987A that progressively got stronger. But from 2013 until the present, X emissions have been nearly constant, indicating that the supernova's surrounding material has no longer been burned by the flash that was emitted by the explosion.
One of the extragalactic objects that has been studied and seen the most in astronomy history is without a doubt SN 1987A. Considering its nearness and brightness. In reality, it offered an incredibly rare chance to examine every aspect of a star's demise.
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