Scientists used the James Webb Space Telescope to discover evidence for the first time of a neutron star at the site of a young supernova remnmant. The supernova SN 1987A is a core-collapse supernova which means that the remains at its core will form either a neutron star or a black hole.
Astronomers have been looking for evidence of such a compact object for a long time, said NASA while making the announcement. While indirect evidence of such a neutron star has been discovered recently, this is the first time that the effects of a high-energy emission from a probable young neutron star have been detected.
SN 1987A exploded 160,000 light-years away from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud. THe supernova was detected from Earth in February 1987, and its brightness peaked in May of that same year. It was the first supernova that could be seen with the naked eye since Kepler’s Supernova was seen in 1604.
Just hours before the first visible-light observation of the supernova, three observatories around the world detected a burst of neutrinos that lasted a few seconds. These observations were linked to the same supernova event and it provided evidence to theories of how core-collapse supernovae happen.
“For a long time, we’ve been searching for evidence for a neutron star in the gas and dust of Supernova 1987A. Finally, we have the evidence that we’ve been seeking,” Mike Barlow, an emeritus professor of physics and astronomy and part of the team behind this discovery, to Space.com.
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First uploaded on: 23-02-2024 at 14:40 IST
Shambhu Kumar is a science communicator, making complex scientific topics accessible to all. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
