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Shocked Region Around SN 1987A

Shocked Region Around SN 1987A
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.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    05h 35m 27.87s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -69° 16' 10.48"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Dorado
  • Distance
    DistanceThe 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.
    Approximately 160,000 light-years (49 kiloparsecs) away

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    ACS data of SN 1987A were observed with the HST proposal 10867: R. Kirshner (Harvard University ) and collaborators.
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/HRC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    December 6-9, 2006, Exposure Time: 4.2 hours
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F435W (B), F555W (V), F625W (R), and F658N (H-alpha+[N II])
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    SN 1987A
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)
  • Release Date
    September 2, 2010
  • Science Release
    New Hubble Observations of Supernova 1987A Trace Shock Wave
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, K. France (University of Colordo, Boulder), and P. Challis and R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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