eso_eso8705a March 3rd, 1987
Credit: ESO
The star that exploded on February 23 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (the progenitor of supernova 1987A) has now been identified. It was catalogued in 1969 as an OB star of 12th magnitude and given the designation Sanduleak -69 202. Observations at the European Southern Observatory in the mid-1970's allowed to classify it as of spectral type B3 I, that is a very hot, supergiant star.
Provider: European Southern Observatory
Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso8705a/
Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany
Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Detailed color mapping information coming soon...
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