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Supernova 1987A Shockwave hits the ring

1998; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 391; Issue: 6669 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/35742

1476-4687

Stephen Battersby,

Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae

In 1987, the brightest supernova seen since 1604 appeared in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way about 170,000 light years away. Eleven years later, a new light show is beginning, as the shockwave from the explosion hits a mysterious ring of material that surrounds the star. This collision may show us whether the ring was emitted by a merger between the precursor star and a binary companion, or created in some other way. And it will probably look very pretty.