The Mysterious Rings of Supernova 1987A
Image Credit:
ESA/Hubble,
NASA
What's causing those odd rings in
supernova 1987A?
Thirty years ago, in 1987, the brightest supernova
in recent history was seen in the
Large Magellanic Cloud.
At the center of the
featured picture is an object central to the
remains of the violent stellar explosion.
Surrounding the center are
curious outer rings appearing as a
flattened figure 8.
Although large telescopes including the
Hubble Space Telescope monitor the curious rings every few years, their origin remains a mystery.
Pictured here is a Hubble image of the
SN1987A remnant taken in 2011.
Speculation into the cause of the rings includes beamed
jets emanating from an otherwise hidden
neutron star left over from the supernova, and the interaction of the
wind from the progenitor star with gas released before the explosion.