File:Sn87a.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Event type
- Supernova
- Date
- February 24, 1987 ; 39 years ago ( 1987-02-24 )
- Constellation
- Dorado
- Right ascension
- 05 35 28.03
- Declination
- −69 ° 16 ′ 11.79 ″
- Epoch
- J2000
- Galactic coordinates
- G279.7-31.9
- Distance
- 51.4 kpc (168,000 ly)
- Host
- Large Magellanic Cloud
- Progenitor
- Sanduleak -69 202
- Progenitor type
- B3 blue supergiant
- Colour b v
- +0.085
- Notable features
- Closest recorded supernova since invention of telescope
- Peak apparent magnitude
- +2.9
- Other designations
- SN 1987A, AAVSO 0534-69, INTREF 262, SNR 1987A, SNR B0535-69.3, [ BMD2010 ] SNR J0535.5-6916
via Wikipedia infobox
~18 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Supernova 1987A is the bright light source at the centre of the image, near the Tarantula Nebula
SN 1987A was a Type II supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. It occurred approximately 51.4 kiloparsecs (168,000 light-years) from Earth and was the closest observed supernova since Kepler's Supernova in 1604. Light and neutrinos from the explosion reached Earth on February 23, 1987, and it was designated "SN 1987A" as the first supernova discovered that year. Its brightness peaked in May of that year, with an apparent magnitude of about 3, brighter than the constellation's brightest star, Alpha Doradus.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “SN 1987A” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.