This image shows the entire region around supernova 1987A. The most prominent feature in the image is a ring with dozens of bright spots. A shock wave of material unleashed by the stellar blast is slamming into regions along the ring's inner regions, heating them up, and causing them to glow. The ring, about a light-year across, was probably shed by the star about 20,000 years before it exploded.
Credits
NASA, ESA, K. France (University of Colordo, Boulder), and P. Challis and R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | SN 1987A |
| Object Description | Supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) |
| R.A. Position | 05h 35m 27.87s |
| Dec. Position | -69° 16' 10.48" |
| Constellation | Dorado |
| Distance | Approximately 160,000 light-years (49 kiloparsecs) away |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | ACS data of SN 1987A were observed with the HST proposal : R. Kirshner (Harvard University ) and collaborators. |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/HRC |
| Exposure Dates | December 6-9, 2006, Exposure Time: 4.2 hours |
| Filters | F435W (B), F555W (V), F625W (R), and F658N (H-alpha+[N II]) |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
