From the Hubble Space Telescope
Glittering stars and wisps of gas create a breathtaking backdrop for the self-destruction of a massive star, called supernova 1987A, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. Astronomers in the Southern hemisphere witnessed the brilliant explosion of this star on Feb. 23, 1987. This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, shows the supernova remnant, surrounded by inner and outer rings of material, is set in a forest of ethereal, diffuse clouds of gas. This three-color image is composed of several pictures of the supernova and its neighboring region taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 in Sept. 1994, Feb. 1996 and July 1997.
Many bright blue stars near the supernova are massive stars, each more than six times the mass of our Sun. They belong to the same generation of stars as the star that went supernova about 12 million years ago. The presence of bright gas clouds is another sign of the youth of this region, which still appears to be a fertile breeding ground for new stars. In a few years the supernova's fast moving material will sweep through inner ring, heating and exciting its gas, and will produce a new series of cosmic fireworks that will offer a striking view for more than a decade.
Image Title: SN 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud
based on press release for PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC99-04
Last Modified On: Tuesday, December 19, 2000