35 years ago, a supernova erupted in the southern sky

Again in the films of its evolution between 1987 and 2019. At a rate of four years per second, this NASA video shows the eruption of a supernova 35 years ago in 1987. Considering its distance from the earth, these events actually occurred. Before. The dying star first ejected the object’s ring (shown in red). 20,000 later, it exploded: this is the flash that was observed in 1987. The object, which was ejected at high speed, followed it with the telescope and now struck the ring. This shock wave heats the material, resulting in a very glowing.

In this simulation Three dimensions Carried out by NASAWe can see what happened in the context closest to Supernova 1987A Its eruption was observed on Earth on February 24, 1987. This cosmic event, which lasted more than 100 million suns for several months, took place in about 168,000 of our galaxy’s orbits. Light years Within us, within the Great Magellanic Cloud. So we saw this happen with a slight delay of 168,000 years.

SN1987A was Supernova Very close to mankind for centuries. A lot ‘Astronomers Can make their dreams come true: read what happens in these extreme conditions in the months and years following this event. Hubble For example, it has not missed a beat since 1991, joining 10 years later Chandra. Most recently, Alma has made a contribution. A lot has happened in 30 years.

When the crown ignites

In frontStar Explodes, a ring Gas About a light year is already orbiting it. It was made of extruded material The red giant According to researchers, it has been dying for more than 20,000 years. after thatDecline The scattering breath of the star quickly catches the cloud created by the “previous supernova”. Thus, over the past 30 years, researchers have been able to see a progressive eruption of this crown. Wind Jumped on her. What happens next is unknown to researchers, as it depends on a number of factors, such as the density of the ring. At the center, observations show that the structure is melting at a speed of about 32 million km / h.

The shock wave, meanwhile, continues to propagate through the large molecular cloud where the original star was born. The material it is going to compress will come into the bud Stars, And the large amount of pseudo-elements in the explosion will enrich the matrix. New suns and their planets will appear in a few million years.

© NASA