AAO image reference AAT 67. « Previous || Next »
Top left is NE. Image width is about 60 arcsec
Image and text © 1991-2010, Australian Astronomical Observatory, photograph by David Malin.
The elongated red 'star' marks the site of of supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The two blue stars that bracket the glowing ember are almost certainly in the LMC as well, but not necessarily near the supernova. They initially confused the issue of which star had exploded. The red image is the expanding remnant of a massive star and can be seen to be slightly elongated in this picture. The elongation is in the same direction as the well-known Hubble Space Telescope picture of the ellipse around the supernova and both represent the expanding shock wave from the supernova interacting with material that was ejected from the star before it exploded.
Related Images
AAT 48. The Tarantula Nebula and supernova 1987a in the Large Magellanic Cloud
AAT 48b. Supernova 1987A, the star, in March 1987
AAT 49. The Tarantula Nebula in the LMC, before supernova SN1987A
AAT 50. Supernova 1987A, before and after images
AAT 66. The light echo of supernova 1987A
Constellation of Dorado (external site)
For details of photographic exposure, search technical table by AAT reference number.