Open User Keys Help in Second Window Jump to main content
GRIN - Great Images in NASA
Browse by Subject
Browse by Center
Search by Keywords
Frequent Questions
How to Use GRIN
Copyright Information
NASA InsigniaVisit NASA's home Site. 		Photo Banner of four images in GRIN.
Main Content
Supernova SN1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud Main Content
NASA Center: Hubble Space Telescope Center
Image # : PR99-04
Date : 02/04/1999

Title

Supernova SN1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Full Description

Glittering stars and wisps of gas create a breathtaking backdrop for the self-destruction of a massive star, called supernova 1987A, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy. Astronomers in the Southern hemisphere witnessed the brilliant explosion of this star on Feb. 23, 1987. Shown in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, the supernova remnant, surrounded by inner and outer rings of material, is set in a forest of ethereal, diffuse clouds of gas. This three-color image is composed of several pictures of the supernova and its neighboring region taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 in Sept. 1994, Feb. 1996 and July 1997. The many bright blue stars nearby the supernova are massive stars, each more than six times heftier than our Sun. They are members of the same generation of stars as the star that went supernova about 12 million years ago. The presence of bright gas clouds is another sign of the youth of this region, which still appears to be a fertile breeding ground for new stars. In a few years the supernova's fast moving material will sweep the inner ring with full force, heating and exciting its gas, and will produce a new series of cosmic fireworks that will offer a striking view for more than a decade.

Keywords

Hubble Space Telescope HST Large Magellanic Cloud Supernova 1987A Wide Field Planetary Camera WFPC

Subject Category

Deep Space Studies, Hubble,

Reference Numbers

  • Center: HSTI
  • Center Number: PR99-04
  • GRIN DataBase Number: GPN-2000-000948

Source Information

  • Creator/Photographer: NASA, The Hubble Heritage Team, STScI, AURA
  • Original Source: DIGITAL

Image Information ( Copyright Notification )

ResolutionFormatWidth
(Pixels)		Height
(Pixels)		Size
(KBytes)
Thumbnail .jpg 80 88 15
Small .jpg 569 629 519
Medium .jpg 1334 1474 2,555
Large .jpg 1334 1474 2,555

Jump to main content

Other relevant NASA Web sites:
• NASA Headquarters
• NASA History Office
• NASA Image eXchange (NIX)
• NASA Multimedia Gallery
• NASA Human Spaceflight

Updated October 31, 2002
• History Questions: NASA History Office
• Responsible NASA Official: Steve Garber
• Author: Michael Hahn.  Editor: Dwayne A. Day
• Curator & Technical Questions: Erin Needham
• NASA's Privacy Statement