Astronomers observe the magnetic field of the remains of supernova 1987A

For the first time, astronomers have directly observed the magnetism in one of astronomy's most studied objects: the remains of Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A), a dying star that appeared in our skies over thirty years ago.

In addition to being an impressive observational achievement, the detection provides insight into the early stages of the evolution of supernova remnants and the cosmic magnetism within them.

Source

Credit: NASA, ESA, R. Kirshner and P. Challis (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)

This Hubble Space Telescope image of the remnant of Supernova 1987A shows a bright inner ring glowing as it interacts with material from the supernova blast. The ring is approximately one light-year in diameter. It is not clear what is causing the two larger, fainter rings. The two bright objects are stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The image was taken in 2010.

Source / Image Courtesy

From 1999 until 2013, Chandra data showed an expanding ring of X-ray emission that had been steadily getting brighter. This was produced by the blast wave from the original explosion that had been bursting through and heating the ring of gas surrounding the supernova.