Once it was in orbit, and its optics repaired, SN 1987A was one of the first targets for the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble revealed how a supernova is much more complicated than astronomers ever expected, and helped rewrite the textbooks on exploding stars.
The attached image shows the amazing glowing ring of material surrounding the supernova. The ring has been there for years, but the supernova is illuminating it as the light echo moves through the material energizing the gas. As this ring of light continues to expand, it’ll reveal more details about what the star went through before it exploded.
This image was taken in December 2006, using Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys.
Original Source: Hubble News Release
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