In 1987, light from the star’s explosion reached our celestial dome, traveling 168,000 light-years from Earth. Since then, we have been studying this curious formation, called SN 1987A. in an attempt to understand what happens to these bodies after they go supernova. Now James Webb and NASA are revealing new information to us in more detail than ever.
Supernova SN 1987A is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that functions as a satellite of our Milky Way. Since its first discovery, space agencies around the world have focused on its evolution. However, it was only with the advent of the James Webb Space Telescope We were able to observe a celestial object with such a level of detail and accuracy..
Besides James Webb, Other observatories that have imaged SN 1987A include Chandra, Hubble and NuSTAR.. The first photographed the supernova in X-rays, and the second was responsible for photographing in visible light.
Supernova details captured by James Webb
To achieve such an unprecedented amount of detail, NIRKam James Webb. This is one of the main instruments of the space telescope., capable of capturing light in the near-infrared spectrum. In this way, it is possible to obtain images with details that would be invisible to the human eye, and also to reveal structures hidden behind clouds of cosmic dust.
NASA explains every detail of the composition from the center to the edges. First of all, we have a central keyhole shaped structure. It will consist of lumps of gas and dust, products of matter ejected by the star at the stage of its dying.. The dust in this area is so dense that even the James Webb cannot penetrate it, which led to the dark formation at the center of the supernova.
On the other side, we have the first equatorial ring in the shape of a pearl. The latter consists of material ejected by the star thousands of years before it exploded. They are much brighter than the rest of the formations due to the shock wave that hit the structure after it turned into a supernova.
This pearl ring is connected by an outer band to two other, duller rings. which create an hourglass-shaped structure.
The secrets of a supernova that we cannot yet see
Despite the capabilities of the James Webb, there are some details that we cannot see in SN 1987A. Among them, a putative neutron star that should theoretically be at the center of the formation. Eventually, events such as a supernova cause the core of a celestial body to collapse, giving birth to a new neutron star or black hole. Of course, everything depends on the density of the original star.
According to researchers’ calculations, the density of the supernova SN 1987A should have given way to a neutron star. Unfortunately, the gas and dust are too dense for James Webb’s instruments to penetrate.
SN 1987A is a structure of interest to scientists, and for good reason. Neutron stars remain a big mystery to the community. Being able to study them in such close proximity, as in the case of this supernova, can help us understand how they form and how they interact with the gas and dust around them.
Source: Hiper Textual
