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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
The Mysterious Rings of Supernova 1987a
Explanation: What's causing those odd rings in supernova 1987a? In 1987, the brightest supernova in recent history occurred in the Large Magellanic Clouds . At the center of the picture is an object central to the remains of the violent stellar explosion . When the Hubble Space Telescope was pointed at the supernova remnant in 1994, however, curious rings were discovered . The origins of these rings still remains a mystery. Speculation into the cause of the rings includes beamed jets emanating from a dense star left over from the supernova, and a superposition of two stellar winds ionized by the supernova explosion.
| Date | July 5, 1996 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: C. Burrows (ESA/ STScI), HST, NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |