{"id":48787,"date":"2023-09-01T12:36:06","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T12:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/079f4943-37a6-44a6-880c-43d05fb22140"},"modified":"2023-09-01T13:32:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T13:32:41","slug":"webb-captures-new-image-of-supernova-1987a-revealing-never-before-seen-structures","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/webb-captures-new-image-of-supernova-1987a-revealing-never-before-seen-structures\/","title":{"rendered":"Webb captures new image of Supernova 1987A, revealing never-before-seen structures"},"content":{"rendered":"

An exploded star first seen four decades ago is revealed in new infrared light by JWST. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 01 September 2023 at 12:36 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a new image of Supernova 1987A, one of the most famous exploding stars.<\/p>

The image shows more clarity and detail than in any image of the supernova<\/a> captured previously.<\/p>

SN 1987A is 168,000 lightyears away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way<\/a> galaxy.<\/p>

The supernova was discovered in 1987 and has been studied intently over subsequent decades at multiple wavelengths.<\/p>\n

A multi-wavelength view of Supernova 1987A, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array. Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Angelich (NRAO\/AUI\/NSF); Hubble image: NASA, ESA, and R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation) Chandra image: NASA\/CXC\/Penn State\/K. Frank et al.\nALMA image: ALMA (ESO\/NAOJ\/NRAO) and R. Indebetouw (NRAO\/AUI\/NSF).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iconic observatories like the Spitzer space telescope<\/a> and Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> have been among those to study the supernova.<\/p>

Now the Webb Telescope has begun observing SN 1987A in infrared<\/a> using its NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument.<\/p>

The observations are revealing how the supernova evolves over time and shapes the nebulaic supernova remnant around it.<\/p>

Webb’s SN 1987A image explained<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"James
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura (Cardiff University), R. Arendt (NASA\u2019s Goddard Spaceflight Center & University of Maryland, Baltimore County), C. Fransson (Stockholm University), and J. Larsson (KTH Royal Institute of Technology). Image Processing: A. Pagan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the Webb image of SN 1987A, we see a central keyhole structure (like Webb’s Ring Nebula image<\/a>).<\/p>

This core is densely packed with cosmic gas and dust ejected by the stellar explosion.<\/p>

It’s so dense that even Webb, with its penetrating infrared vision, can’t see through it.<\/p>

Around this dense region is a bright ‘equatorial’ ring that connects two outer rings pushing outwards from the supernova.<\/p>

This equatorial ring is formed from material that was ejected tens of thousands of years before the final supernova explosion.<\/p>

Bright clumps can be seen. These are the locations where the supernova shockwaves collided with the ejected material.<\/p>

Unseen until now are the crescent-like stuctures, thought to be part of outer layers of gas ejected by the supernova.<\/p>\n

\"The
The evolution of the supernova 1987A between 1994 and 2016, as captured by Hubble. Credit: NASA, P. Challis, R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and B. Sugerman (STScI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What next for Webb and SN 1987A?<\/strong><\/h2>

Webb will carry out further observations of SN 1987A to find out more about the object itself, but also about the nature and evolution of supernovae.<\/p>

Dr Mikako Matsuura of Cardiff University\u2019s School of Physics and Astronomy is leading the analysis of the new images.<\/p>

\u201cSN 1987A is the closest supernova explosion to Earth detected for the last 400 years,” she says.<\/p>

“Over that time, it has been observed by almost all major ground-based telescopes in the southern hemisphere and through different generations of space telescopes as well.<\/p>

\u201cFor JWST to reveal previously unknown features such as these crescent shapes in the outflow of the supernova was a big surprise and speaks to the telescope\u2019s abilities to present well-studied structures in new and exciting ways.<\/p>

\u201cSpitzer observed SN 1987A in infrared for its entire lifespan and gave us an important understanding of how the light from the supernova remnant changes over time.<\/p>

“But it was never able to achieve the level of clarity and detail which JWST has delivered with these new images.”<\/p>

webbtelescope.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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