The remains of a supernova that helped us understand how stars work have at last been found by scientists.
Astronomers have been hunted for the neutron star that was left over when a massive star exploded and died for decades. And now, after more than 30 years of work, scientists from Cardiff University claim to have seen it.
The supernova, known as 1987A, is very important to astronomers. It was first seen on 23 February, 1987, and it blazed for months, shining with the power of 100 million suns and being visible on Earth.
It gave scientists the opportunity to examine the life – and death – of an extreme star from relatively close-up. 1987A is part of a nearby galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is only 160,000 light years away, relatively nearby at the scale of the universe.
Astronomers have been looking for the neutron star – the collapsed core that the giant star left behind – that would have been left over for the last 30 years. It has been hidden behind a huge cloud of cosmic dust that blocked it out.
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The eye of Hurricane Dorian as captured by Nasa astronaut Nick Hague from onboard the International Space Station (ISS) on 3 September
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The River Nile and its delta captured at night from the ISS on 2 September
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The galaxy Messier 81, located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major, as seen by Nasa’s Spitzer Space Telescope
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The flight path Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 25 September
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Danielson Crater, an impact crater in the Arabia region of Mars, as captured by Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft
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A team rehearses landing and crew extraction from Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station at the White Sands Missile Range outside Las Cruces, New Mexico
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Bound for the International Space Station, the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 25 September
Nasa/Bill Ingalls
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Hurricane Dorian as seen from the ISS on 2 September
Nasa
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A string of tropical cyclones streams across Earth’s northern hemisphere in this picture taken from the ISS on 4 September
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The city of New York as seen from the ISS on 11 September
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The eye of Hurricane Dorian as captured by Nasa astronaut Nick Hague from onboard the International Space Station (ISS) on 3 September
Nasa/EPA
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The River Nile and its delta captured at night from the ISS on 2 September
Nasa
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The galaxy Messier 81, located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major, as seen by Nasa’s Spitzer Space Telescope
Nasa/JPL-Caltech
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The flight path Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 25 September
Nasa/Bill Ingalls
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Danielson Crater, an impact crater in the Arabia region of Mars, as captured by Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft
Nasa/JPL-Caltech
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A team rehearses landing and crew extraction from Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station at the White Sands Missile Range outside Las Cruces, New Mexico
Nasa/Bill Ingalls
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Bound for the International Space Station, the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 25 September
Nasa/Bill Ingalls
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Hurricane Dorian as seen from the ISS on 2 September
Nasa
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A string of tropical cyclones streams across Earth’s northern hemisphere in this picture taken from the ISS on 4 September
Nasa
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The city of New York as seen from the ISS on 11 September
Nasa
But astronomers say that they have finally been able to spot the potential location of that missing star. One part of the dust cloud appears brighter than the areas around it, and happens to be the location where the neutron star is suspected to be.
“For the very first time we can tell that there is a neutron star inside this cloud within the supernova remnant,” said lead author of the study Dr Phil Cigan, from Cardiff University’s School of Physics and Astronomy. “Its light has been veiled by a very thick cloud of dust, blocking the direct light from the neutron star at many wavelengths like fog masking a spotlight.”
Now the scientists hope that the world can start looking back at that star, and learn yet more about how they die – and what happens after.
“Our new findings will now enable astronomers to better understand how massive stars end their lives, leaving behind these extremely dense neutron stars,” said Dr Mikako Matsuura, another leading member of the study.
“We are confident that this neutron star exists behind the cloud and that we know its precise location. Perhaps when the dust cloud begins to clear up in the future, astronomers will be able to directly see the neutron star for the very first time.”
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