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Supernova 1987A:
Impact! Chandra Images a Young Supernova Blast Wave
Supernova 1987A in X-rays. The Chandra
X-ray image of SN 1987A made in January 2000 shows an expanding shell
of hot gas produced by the supernova explosion. This observation and
an earlier Chandra observation in October 1999 are the earliest X-ray
images ever made of a shock wave following a supernova event. The
colors represent different intensities of X-ray emission, with white
being the brightest.
Recent optical observations of SN 1987A
with the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed gradually
brightening hot spots from a ring of matter that was
ejected by the star thousands of years before it
exploded. Chandra's X-ray image shows the cause for
this brightening ring. A shock wave, traveling at a
speed of 4,500 kilometers per second (10 million miles
per hour), is smashing into portions of the optical
ring. The gas in the expanding shell has a temperature
of about 10 million degrees Celsius, and is visible
only with an X-ray telescope.
SN 1987A is in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby
galaxy that is 160,000 light years from Earth. Although
SN 1987A was a spectacularly violent event, we are
watching it from a very safe distance. For a supernova
to do real damage to us, it would have to occur at a
distance of less than about a hundred light years, more
than a thousand times closer than SN1987A.
| Fast Facts for Supernova 1987A: |
| Credit |
NASA/CXC/SAO/PSU/D.Burrows et al. |
| Scale |
Field shown is 3 arcsec on a side, corresponding to a size of 2.4 light years. |
| Category |
Supernovas & Supernova Remnants |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 05h 35m 28.30s | Dec -69° 16' 13" |
| Constellation |
Dorado |
| Observation Dates |
January 17, 2000
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| Observation Time |
3 hours |
| Obs. IDs |
122
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| Color Code |
Intensity |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Also Known As | Supernova 1987A | | References | D.Burrows et al (submitted to ApJ) (2000) |
| Distance Estimate |
160,000 light years |
| Release Date |
May 11, 2000 |
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