Hubble revisits an old friend

Esahubble_potw1142a_1024

esahubble_potw1142a October 17th, 2011

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Supernova SN 1987A, one of the brightest stellar explosions since the invention of the telescope more than 400 years ago, is no stranger to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The observatory has been on the frontline of studies into this brilliant dying star since its launch in 1990, three years after the supernova exploded on 23 February 1987. This image of Hubbles old friend, retreived from the telescopes data archive, may be the best ever of this object, and reminds us of the many mysteries still surrounding it. Dominating this picture are two glowing loops of stellar material and a very bright ring surrounding the dying star at the centre of the frame. Although Hubble has provided important clues on the nature of these structures, their origin is still largely unknown. Another mystery is that of the missing neutron star. The violent death of a high-mass star, such as SN 1987A, leaves behind a stellar remnant a neutron star or a black hole. Astronomers expect to find a neutron star in the remnants of this supernova, but they have not yet been able to peer through the dense dust to confirm it is there. The supernova belongs to the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy about 168 000 light-years away. Even though the stellar explosion took place around 166 000 BC, its light arrived here less than 25 years ago. This picture is based on observations done with the High Resolution Channel of Hubbles Advanced Camera for Surveys. The field of view is approximately 25 by 25 arcseconds.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1142a/

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_potw1142a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 35m 27.6s
DEC = -69° 16’ 7.9”
Orientation
North is 6.7° CCW
Field of View
0.4 x 0.4 arcminutes
Constellation
Dorado

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (ACS) Optical (H-alpha) 658.0 nm
Orange Hubble (ACS) Infrared (I) 814.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 555.0 nm
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (B) 435.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Red
Orange
Green
Blue
Esahubble_potw1142a_1280
×
ID
potw1142a
Subject Category
C.3.1.8  
Subject Name
SN 1987A
Credits
ESA/Hubble & NASA
Release Date
2011-10-17T10:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1142a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Distance to the LMC in light years
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS
Color Assignment
Red, Orange, Green, Blue
Band
Optical, Infrared, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
H-alpha, I, V, B
Central Wavelength
658, 814, 555, 435
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
83.8650450126, -69.2688564792
Reference Dimension
850.0, 850.0
Reference Pixel
425.0, 425.0
Scale
-6.95832118202e-06, 6.95832118202e-06
Rotation
6.7199999999999855
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
potw1142a
Metadata Date
2011-08-30T10:45:14+02:00
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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