Webb Reveals New Structures Within Iconic Supernova

Webb Reveals New Structures Within Iconic Supernova

Handout - Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured this detailed image of SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). At the center, material ejected from the supernova forms a keyhole shape. Just to its left and right are faint crescents newly discovered by Webb. Beyond them an equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots. Exterior to that is diffuse emission and two faint outer rings. This image reveals a central structure like a keyhole. This center is packed with clumpy gas and dust ejected by the supernova explosion. The dust is so dense that even near-infrared light that Webb detects can’t penetrate it, shaping the dark “hole” in the keyhole. Despite the decades of study since the supernova’s initial discovery, there are several mysteries that remain, particularly surrounding the neutron star that should have been formed in the aftermath of the supernova explosion. August 31, 2023. Photo by NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura (Cardiff Un

  • Product Code
  • ILEA001666538
  • Registered date
  • 2023/8/31 00:00:00
  • Credit
  • Abaca Press / Kyodo News Images
  • Media source
  • ABACA
  • Media size
  • 1077 × 1050 pixel
  • Resolution
  • 72 dpi
  • Deployment size
  • 145.22(KB)*
  • Special instruction

*File size when opened in Photoshop, etc.

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