Astron

SN 1987A was a peculiar type II supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud , a dwarf galaxy satellite of the Milky Way . It occurred approximately 51.4 kiloparsecs (168,000 light-years ) from Earth and was the closest observed supernova since Kepler's Supernova , visible from earth in 1604. 1987A's light reached Earth on February 23, 1987, [5] and as the first supernova discovered that year, was labeled "1987A". Its brightness peaked in May, with an apparent magnitude of about 3. It was the first opportunity for modern astronomers to study the development of a supernova in great detail, and its observations have provided much insight into core-collapse supernovae . SN 1987A provided the first chance to confirm by direct observation the radioactive source of the energy for visible light emissions, by detecting predicted gamma-ray line radiation from two of its abundant radioactive nuclei. This proved the radioactive nature of the long-duration post-explosio...

A supernova ( / ˌ s uː p ər n oʊ v ə / plural: supernovae / ˌ s uː p ər n oʊ v iː / or supernovas, abbreviations: SN and SNe) is an event that occurs upon the death of certain types of stars. Supernovae are more energetic than novae . In Latin , nova means "new", referring astronomically to what appears to be a temporary new bright star. Adding the prefix "super-" distinguishes supernovae from ordinary novae, which are far less luminous. The word supernova was coined by Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky in 1931. [1]   Only three, Milky Way naked-eye supernova events have been observed during the last thousand years, though many have been seen in other galaxies using telescopes . The most recent directly observed supernova in the Milky Way was Kepler's Supernova in 1604, but two more recent supernova remnants have also been found. Statistical observations of supernovae in other galaxies suggest they occur on average about three times every century ...

SN 1987A was a supernova in the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud (a nearby dwarf galaxy ). It occurred approximately 51.4 kiloparsecs from Earth , approximately 168,000 light-years , [3] close enough that it was visible to the naked eye . It could be seen from the Southern Hemisphere. It was the closest observed supernova since SN 1604 , which occurred in the Milky Way itself. The light from the new supernova reached Earth on February 23, 1987. [5] As it was the first supernova discovered in 1987, it was labeled “1987A”. Its brightness peaked in May with an apparent magnitude of about 3 and slowly declined in the following months. It was the first opportunity for modern astronomers to study the development of a supernova in detail, and observations have provided much insight into core-collapse supernovae . Of special importance, SN1987A provided the first chance to confirm by direct observation the radioactive source of the energy for visib...