一颗耀眼的超新星

This image, released on Feb. 24, 2017, shows Supernova 1987a (center) surrounded by dramatic red clouds of gas and dust within the Large Magellanic Cloud. This supernova, first discovered on Feb. 23, 1987, blazed with the power of 100 million Suns. Since that first sighting, SN 1987A has continued to fascinate astronomers with its spectacular light show. Located in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud, it was the nearest supernova explosion observed in hundreds of years and the best opportunity yet for astronomers to study the phases before, during, and after the death of a star.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), and M. Mutchler and R. Avila (STScI)

这张照片发布于2017年2月24日，显示了超新星1987a（中）被大麦哲伦星云内引人注目的红色气体和尘埃云包围。这颗超新星于1987年2月23日首次被发现，其能量相当于1亿个太阳。自首次发现以来，SN 1987A以其壮观的光影表演吸引着天文学家。它位于大麦哲伦星云附近，是数百年来观测到的距离最近的超新星爆炸，也是天文学家研究恒星死亡前、死亡中和死亡后阶段的最佳机会。

影像来源: NASA, ESA, R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), and M. Mutchler and R. Avila (STScI)