Daily Telescope: Finally, we’ve found the core of a famous supernova
Enlarge / Webb has observed the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of Supernova 1987A. (credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, et. al.)
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Good morning. It's February 26, and today's image highlights the core of a (relatively) nearby supernova.
In the astronomy community, SN 1987A has somewhat legendary status. The first observable light from this exploding star in the Large Magellanic Cloud reached Earth in February, almost 37 years ago to the day. It was the first supernova that astronomers were able to observe and study with modern telescopes. It was still discussed in reverent terms a few years later when I was an undergraduate student studying astronomy at the University of Texas.