Four Bright Knots of Superheated Gas in Supernova 1987A Ring

Esahubble_opo0011c_1024

esahubble_opo0011c February 16th, 2000

Credit: NASA/ESA, Peter Challis and Robert Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), Peter Garnavich (University of Notre Dame) and the SINS collaboration.

Image processing is used to emphasize four new bright knots of superheated gas discovered in the February 2 Hubble observations. The brightest knot, at the far right, was seen in 1997. Astronomers have been waiting several years to see more of the ring light-up as the supernova shockwave smashes into it. This is the first definitive sign of the full onset of a dramatic and violent collision which will continue over the next few years, rejuvenating SN1987A as a powerful source of X-ray and radio emissions.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo0011c/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
SN 1987A
Subject - Local Universe
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Supernova
Esahubble_opo0011c_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 35m 28.0s
DEC = -69° 16’ 11.3”
Orientation
North is 290.2° CCW
Field of View
0.0 x 0.0 arcminutes
Constellation
Dorado

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (WFPC2) Optical -
Esahubble_opo0011c_1280
×
ID
opo0011c
Subject Category
C.3.1.8  
Subject Name
SN 1987A
Credits
NASA/ESA, Peter Challis and Robert Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), Peter Garnavich (University of Notre Dame) and the SINS collaboration.
Release Date
2000-02-16T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo0011c/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
WFPC2
Color Assignment
Red
Band
Optical
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
83.8665352686, -69.2697995241
Reference Dimension
564.0, 664.0
Reference Pixel
282.0, 332.0
Scale
-1.11929070351e-06, 1.11929070351e-06
Rotation
290.20000000000005
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
http://www.spacetelescope.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
opo0011c
Metadata Date
2003-12-09T17:16:07+01:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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