SN 1987A – Astronomy Now

Evidence grows for pulsar at the heart of famed supernova remnant

1 March 2021 Astronomy Now

Astronomers find more evidence for an obscured pulsar at the heart of the famed SN 1987A supernova remnant.

Heart of an exploded star observed in 3D

13 July 2017 Astronomy Now

Supernovas — the violent endings of the brief yet brilliant lives of massive stars — are among the most cataclysmic events in the cosmos. Though supernovas mark the death of stars, they also trigger the birth of new elements and the formation of new molecules.

The dawn of a new era for Supernova 1987A

24 February 2017 Stephen Clark

Three decades ago, astronomers spotted one of the brightest exploding stars in more than 400 years. The titanic supernova, called Supernova 1987A, blazed with the power of 100 million suns for several months following its discovery on Feb. 23, 1987.

NASA’s Fermi satellite detects first gamma-ray pulsar in another galaxy

13 November 2015 Astronomy Now

Researchers using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have discovered the first gamma-ray pulsar in a galaxy other than our own. Known as PSR J0540-6919, the object sets a new record for the most luminous gamma-ray pulsar known. The pulsar lies in the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy that is located 163,000 light-years away.

Banking X-ray data for the future

10 October 2015 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has collected data for over sixteen years on thousands of different objects throughout the universe. Once the data is processed, all of the data goes into an archive and is available to the public. To celebrate American Archive Month, a collection of new images from the Chandra archive has just been released.