archive: SETI SN1987A IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD (STScI-PRC99-04-Heritage)
SETI SN1987A IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD (STScI-PRC99-04-Heritage)
Larry Klaes ( lklaes@bbn.com )
Fri, 05 Feb 1999 14:30:06 -0500
>Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 08:52:41 -0500
>From: Cheryl Gundy <gundy@stsci.edu>
>X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.07 [en] (WinNT; I)
>To: pio@stsci.edu
>Subject: SN1987A IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD (STScI-PRC99-04-Heritage)
>Sender: owner-pio@stsci.edu
>
>EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:00 noon EST February 4, 1999
>
>PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC99-04
>
>
>SN1987A IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD
>
>Glittering stars and wisps of gas create a breathtaking backdrop for the
>self-destruction of a massive star, called supernova 1987A, in the Large
>Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy. Astronomers in the Southern
>hemisphere witnessed the brilliant explosion of this star on Feb. 23,
>1987.
>
>Shown in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, the supernova remnant,
>surrounded by inner and outer rings of material, is set in a forest of
>ethereal, diffuse clouds of gas. This three-color image is composed of
>several pictures of the supernova and its neighboring region taken with
>the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 in Sept. 1994, Feb. 1996 and July
>1997.
>
>The many bright blue stars nearby the supernova are massive stars, each
>more than six times heftier than our Sun. With ages of about 12 million
>years old, they are members of the same generation of stars as the star
>that went supernova. The presence of bright gas clouds is another sign
>of the youth of this region, which still appears to be a fertile
>breeding ground for new stars.
>
>In a few years the supernova's fast moving material will sweep the inner
>ring with full force, heating and exciting its gas, and will produce a
>new series of cosmic fireworks that will offer a striking view for more
>than a decade.
>
>Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)
>
>EDITOR'S NOTE: This image and a photo caption are available on the
>Internet at:
>http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1999/04
>http://heritage.stsci.edu or via links in
>http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/latest.html or
>http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pictures.html
>
>Higher resolution digital versions (300 dpi JPEG) of the release photos
>are available at: http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1999/04.
>
>TIFF image files are available at
>http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/tiff/1999/9904.tif.
>
>STScI press releases and other information are available by sending an
>Internet electronic mail message to pio-request@stsci.edu. In the body
>of the message (not the subject line) users should type the word
>"subscribe" (use no quotes). The system will respond with a
>confirmation of the subscription and users will receive new press
>releases as they are issued.
>