Supernova 168,000 light years away captured by James Webb Telescope
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — NASA’s James Webb Telescope continues to capture unbelievable images. Last week, NASA released this picture of Supernova 1987A which was first discovered in 1987. A supernova is the explosion of a star. It is the largest explosion that takes place in space.
(Provided Photo/NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura (Cardiff University), R. Arendt (NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center & University of Maryland, Baltimore County), C. Fransson (Stockholm University), and J. Larsson (KTH Royal Institute of Technology). Image Processing: A. Pagan.)
The Webb Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) was able to capture this image of Supernova 1987A, which is pictured above and has been annotated to highlight key structures.
According to NASA and a large team of researchers, at the center of the supernova, the material ejected forms a keyhole shape. Just to its left and right are faint crescents newly discovered by Webb. Beyond them, an equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots. Exterior to that is diffuse emission and two faint outer rings.
The remnants of this supernova are about 168,000 light years away. It is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud which is a neighboring galaxy of the Milky Way. New structures within this supernova picture are easily distinguished.
Previous James Webb Telescope Pictures
(Provided Photo/NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI via AP)