Supernova 1987A is one of the most studied stellar explosions in history and more than 30 years after the blast, astronomers have detected a magnetic field 50,000 times weaker than a refrigerator magnet.
New observations of the remnant of supernova (SN) 1987A are confirming supercomputer model predictions made at Caltech that the deaths of stellar giants are lopsided affairs in which debris and the stars’ cores hurtle off in opposite directions.