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Clouds of gas and dust in shades of red cover the top of the image and a little bit of the bottom. Right in the middle is Supernova 1987a, the remnant of an exploded star. The site of the supernova is surrounded by an illuminated pinkish ring. Two faint outer rings are also visible. Stars and galaxies shine throughout, giving off red and blue light.

A Dazzling Supernova

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

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), and M. Mutchler and R. Avila (STScI)

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TakenFebruary 24, 2017
Image CreditNASA, ESA, R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), and M. Mutchler and R. Avila (STScI)
Size1823x2000px