Madrid. the space telescope James Webb began the study of one of the most recognized supernovae, SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A), discovering mysterious new structures inside it.
Located 168,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, SN 1987A has been the subject of intense observations at wavelengths ranging from gamma rays to radio for nearly 40 years, since its discovery in February 1987. New observations made by NIRCam (Webb’s Near-Cam Infrared Camera) provide a crucial clue to our understanding of how a supernova develops over time to shape its remnant.
This image reveals a central structure like a keyhole. This center is filled with lumpy gases and dust ejected by the supernova explosion. The dust is so dense that not even the near-infrared light it detects Webb it can penetrate it, which forms the dark “hole” in the keyhole.
A brilliant equatorial ring encircles the inner keyhole, forming a band around the waist connecting two wispy arms of hourglass-shaped outer rings. The equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots, which appeared when the supernova shock wave struck the ring. Now spots are found even outside the ring, with diffuse emission around it. These are the locations of the supernova shocks that hit the most foreign material.
half moons
While these structures have been observed to varying degrees by space telescopes hubble and Spitzer from NASA and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the unmatched sensitivity and spatial resolution of Webb revealed a new feature in this supernova remnant: small crescent-shaped structures, NASA reported.
These crescents are believed to be part of the outer layers of gas shot out by the supernova explosion. Its brightness may be an indication of extremity brightness, an optical phenomenon that results from viewing the expanding material in three dimensions. In other words, our angle of view makes it appear that there is more material in these two crescents than there really is.
The high resolution of these images is also remarkable. Before WebbThe telescope Spitzer, now retired, observed this supernova in the infrared throughout his life, yielding key data on how its emissions evolved over time. However, he was never able to observe the supernova with such clarity and detail.
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