The light echo of supernova 1987A
AAO image reference AAT 66
Top left is NE. Image width is about 5.5 arc min
Image and text © Anglo-Australian Observatory, Photograph by David Malin
When supernova 1987A was seen to explode in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Milky Way's nearest companion galaxy, the brilliant flash of light from the self-destructing star had taken about 170,000 years to arrive. Some light was deflected by two sheets of dust near the supernova, and is seen after the star has faded away because it covers a longer path to reach us. The dust responsible for the rings seen here lies in two distinct sheets, about 470 and 1300 light years from the supernova. The colour picture, made by subtracting images on plates taken before and after the supernova, is an accurate reproduction of the colour of the extremely faint light echo, which in turn reflects the yellow colour of the supernova when it was at its brightest, in May, 1987. |
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置顶卡
变色卡
千斤顶
显身卡