Supernova 1987A, JWST image
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) image of supernova 1987A. The supernova is located 168,000 light years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud in the constellation Dorado. . At the centre of the image, the material ejected from the supernova explosion forms a keyhole shape. This centre is filled with clumpy gas and dust that was also ejected by the explosion. The dust is so dense that even near-infrared light that Webb detects can't penetrate it, creating the dark 'hole' in the keyhole. Beyond this centre is a bright equatorial ring that was formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, containing bright hot spots. Exterior to that are diffuse emissions and two faint outer rings. Image captured by JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).
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Photo credit: © NASA/ESA/CSA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, -infrared, 1987a, 2000s, 2020s, 2023, 21st, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, camera, century, cloud, dorado, dwarf, galactic, galaxies, galaxy, infrared, ir, james, jwst, large, magellanic, milky, nasa, nircam, remnant, remnants, satellite, sn, space, star, stars, stellar, supernova, supernovae, supernovas, telescope, webb
