Skip to main content

James Webb telescope captures stunning view of a famous supernova remnant

One of the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud, is famous as the host of the nearest supernova to Earth in recent history. Supernova SN 1987A occurred when a massive star ran out of fuel and collapsed at the end of its life, setting off an enormous explosion that threw out a shock wave so powerful it reshaped the dust and gas around it for millions of miles in every direction.

That supernova left behind a remnant, a ring-shaped structure created as the shock wave traveled outward over time. This glowing ring has been frequently observed since the supernova was first seen in 1987. Now, the James Webb Space Telescope has provided one of the most detailed views yet of this stunning structure that was created from a destructive explosion.

Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured this detailed image of SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). At the center, material ejected from the supernova forms a keyhole shape. Just to its left and right are faint crescents newly discovered by Webb. Beyond them an equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots. Exterior to that is diffuse emission and two faint outer rings. In this image blue represents light at 1.5 microns (F150W), cyan 1.64 and 2.0 microns (F164N, F200W), yellow 3.23 microns (F323N), orange 4.05 microns (F405N), and red 4.44 microns (F444W).
Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured this detailed image of SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). At the center, material ejected from the supernova forms a keyhole shape. Just to its left and right are faint crescents newly discovered by Webb. Beyond them an equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots. Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, Mikako Matsuura (Cardiff University), Richard Arendt (NASA-GSFC, UMBC), Claes Fransson (Stockholm University), Josefin Larsson (KTH); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

This image of SN 1987A was taken using Webb’s NIRCam instrument, and it shows a central keyhole-shaped structure full of dust and gas that was thrown off by the dying star as it came to the end of its life. While Webb’s infrared instruments are useful for looking through dust to reveal structures beneath, in the very center of the remnantm the dust is so dense that even infrared light cannot penetrate it, hence the dark clump in the very center.

The rings of material around the center are seen in more detail too, like the bright dots, which are hotspots created by the shock wave from the supernova hitting previously cast-off rings of material.

Astronomers combined observations from three different observatories (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, red; Hubble, green; Chandra X-ray Observatory, blue) to produce this colorful, multiwavelength image of the intricate remains of Supernova 1987A.
Astronomers combined observations from three different observatories to produce this colorful, multiwavelength image of the intricate remains of Supernova 1987A. NASA, ESA, A. Angelich (NRAO, AUI, NSF); Hubble image: NASA, ESA, and R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation) Chandra image: NASA/CXC/Penn State/K. Frank et al. ALMA image: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) and R. Indebetouw (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

As a famous supernova, SN 1987A has been previously observed many times before, including by space-based tools like the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, as well as ground-based tools like the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array.

The image above shows a combination of data from these three observatories, which operate in the optical, X-ray, and radio wavelengths respectively. These observations show the same structures as the Webb image, but in less crisp detail — demonstrating how useful Webb’s instruments are for getting a fresh look at well-known objects.

Editors' Recommendations

Georgina Torbet
Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…
Scientists explain cosmic ‘question mark’ spotted by Webb space telescope
The shape of a question mark captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Considering the myriad of unknowns that still exist for scientists exploring the vastness of the universe, the recent discovery in deep space of what seems to be a giant question mark feels highly appropriate.

Captured by the powerful James Webb Space Telescope, the bright, distinctive object clearly bears the shape of a question mark, leaving some stargazers wondering if the cosmos is teasing us, or perhaps motivating us to keep on searching the depths of space for the secrets that it may reveal.

Read more
James Webb telescope captures the gorgeous Ring Nebula in stunning detail
JWST/NIRcam composite image of the Ring Nebula. The images clearly show the main ring, surrounded by a faint halo and with many delicate structures. The interior of the ring is filled with hot gas. The star which ejected all this material is visible at the very centre. It is extremely hot, with a temperature in excess of 100,000 degrees. The nebula was ejected only about 4000 years ago. Technical details: The image was obtained with JWST's NIRCam instrument on August 4, 2022. Images in three different filters were combined to create this composite image: F212N (blue); F300M (green); and F335M (red).

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the stunning and distinctive Ring Nebula -- a gorgeous structure of dust and gas located in the constellation of Lyra. This nebula is a favorite among sky watchers as it faces toward Earth so we can see its beautiful structure, and because it is visible throughout the summer from the Northern Hemisphere. It is different from the Southern Ring nebula, which Webb has also imaged, but both are a type of object called a planetary nebula.

Located just 2,600 light-years away, the Ring Nebula is a structure of dust and gas that was first observed in the 1770s, when it was thought to be something like a planet. With advances in technology, astronomers realized it was not a planet, but rather a cloud of dust and gas, and thanks to highly detailed observations by space telescopes like Hubble and Webb, scientists have been able to see more of its complex structure. The nebula isn't a simple sphere or blob, but is rather a central, football-shaped structure surrounded by rings of different material.

Read more
See how James Webb instruments work together to create stunning views of space
The irregular galaxy NGC 6822.

A series of new images from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the dusty, irregular galaxy NGC 6822 -- and the different views captured by various Webb instruments.

Located relatively close by at 1.5 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is notable for its low metallicity. Confusingly, when astronomers say metallicity they do not mean the amount of metals present in a galaxy, but rather the amount of all heavy elements -- i.e., everything which isn't hydrogen or helium. This factor is important because the very earliest galaxies in the universe were made up almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, meaning they had low metallicity, and the heavier elements were created over time in the heart of stars and were then distributed through the universe when some of those stars went supernova.

Read more