James Webb and Hubble release photos of Supernova 1987A

JJames Webb and Hubble release photos of Supernova 1987A (NASA, ESA, R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), and M. Mutchler and R. Avila (STScI) // NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura (Cardiff University), R. Arendt (NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center & University of Maryland, Baltimore County), C. Fransson)

The James Webb Space Telescope has managed to capture new details of Supernova (SN 1987A) through its infrared camera. Meanwhile, the Hubble Space Telescope ‘celebrated’ the new images obtained by James Webb by sharing observations of the same Supernova that it has been studying since the 90s.

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A ‘supernova’ is characterized by a powerful and luminous stellar explosion. SN 1987A is located about 168,000 light-years away from the Large Magellanic Cloud, the largest satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.

In the new image of the Supernova in question, it’s possible to observe a central structure resembling a ‘lock’. According to NASA, this center is filled with gas and dust clumps ejected by the supernova explosion, and this dust is so dense that not even the infrared light detected by James Webb could penetrate it.

The new observation could provide fresh insights into how supernovas evolve over time, in collaboration with the repeated observations, since the 90s by Hubble, which have helped shed light on the final stages of stellar evolution.

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