The remnants of a star that exploded 36 years ago have fallen under the line of sight of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). And the observatory’s near-infrared camera (NIRCam) captured the expanding stellar remnant in unprecedented resolution, revealing entirely new details about this burgeoning growth. Supernova remnant.
The closest observed supernova since Kepler’s supernova lit up the Milky Way in 1604, its stellar explosion was first seen in 1987 and is aptly known as Supernova 1987A.
It is located about 168,000 light years from Earth. large magellanic cloud represents the destruction of blue supergiant star Called Sandurik – 69 202. Before it exploded, the star was thought to be about 20 times its mass. Sun.
In fact, the supernova was so bright that it was visible to the naked eye in the Southern Hemisphere. Since then, astronomers have been tracking the expanding debris. JWST is currently focused on supernova remnants. study Led by Mikako Matsuura of Cardiff University in the UK, this spectacular image of the aftermath of a dead star was born.
Matsuura’s project used the JWST to measure when the shock wave of an expanding supernova interacts with surrounding matter. Massive stars such as blue supergiants become unstable near the end of their life and begin to eject large amounts of matter.of hubble space telescope Supernova 1987A’s expanding shock wave initially traveled at about 7,000 kilometers per second (4,350 miles per second), catching up with the ring of circumstellar debris ejected by the doomed star in the 20,000 years or so before it died, I’ve seen collisions before. Supernova. When the wave hit the ring, it slowed to about 2,300 kilometers per second (1,430 miles per second).
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The mass within this ring gradually brightens and looks like a pearl bracelet. Her two other rings appear to be in a different plane than the main one, even thinner and fainter and more mysterious. Astronomers speculate that these rings may be places where the stellar wind ejected before the supernova explosion interacts with material the star ejected earlier.
Alternatively, it could be lit by jets from an invisible neutron star that experts believe must have formed with a supernova explosion. The JWST reveals new details about this aspect, suggesting that shockwaves could spread beyond the main ring and become as bright as them over time, reaccelerating to about 3,600 kilometers per second (2,236 miles per second). It shows that you are creating a new hotspot. previously identified.
A more diffuse emission is also seen in the form of an overall glow, as the blast from the supernova excites the gas surrounding the explosion site. Additionally, JWST discovered something new. Inside the main ring, where gas and dust form a keyhole-shaped eruptive cloud, are two cryptic arcs, or crescents. The researchers suggest that these features may represent an outer layer of gas ejected by the supernova. We are looking at this from an angle.
JWST will continue to monitor the expanding supernova remnant as it evolves, and will continue to search for supernova remnants. neutron star At the center of the explosion, so far not witnessed.
However, there is indirect evidence for neutron stars in the form of X-ray emissions detected by NASA. Chandra NuSTAR X-ray observatory, and Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Wave Array ALMA results show that the neutron star may be hidden in one of the clumps of dust at the core of the remnant.