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The Mysterious Rings of Supernova 1987A

 
 
Reply Sun 26 Feb, 2012 10:11 am
The Mysterious Rings of Supernova 1987A
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA

Explanation: What's causing those odd rings in supernova 1987A? Twenty five years ago, in 1987, the brightest supernova in recent history was seen in the Large Magellanic Clouds. At the center of the above picture is an object central to the remains of the violent stellar explosion. Surrounding the center are curious outer rings appearing as a flattened figure 8.

Although large telescopes including the Hubble Space Telescope monitor the curious rings every few years, their origin remains a mystery.

Pictured above is a Hubble image of the SN1987A remnant taken last year.

Speculation into the cause of the rings includes beamed jets emanating from an otherwise hidden neutron star left over from the supernova, and the interaction of the wind from the progenitor star with gas released before the explosion.

PHOTOS:
http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1142a/
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BumbleBeeBoogie
 
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Reply Mon 27 Feb, 2012 02:50 pm
@BumbleBeeBoogie,
2012 February 27
See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Shocked by Supernova 1987A
Image Credit: Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, ESA; Video compilation: Mark McDonald

Explanation: Twenty five years ago, the brightest supernova of modern times was sighted. Over time, astronomers have watched and waited for the expanding debris from this tremendous stellar explosion to crash into previously expelled material. A clear result of such a collision is demonstrated in the above time lapse video of images recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope between 1994 and 2009. The movie depicts the collision of an outward moving blast wave with the pre-existing, light-year wide ring. The collision occurred at speeds near 60 million kilometers per hour and shock-heats the ring material causing it to glow. Astronomers continue to study the collision as it illuminates the interesting past of SN 1987A, and provides clues to the origin of the mysterious rings.

ACTIVE PHOTO:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1202/sn1987ashock_hst_304.gif
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