Radio image of the remnant of SN 1987A produced from observations performed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). Credit: ICRAR
A Red/Green/Blue overlay of optical, X-Ray and radio observations made
by 3 different telescopes. In red are the 7-mm (44GHz) observations made
with the Australian Compact Array in New South Wales, in green are the
optical observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope, and in blue is
an X-ray view of the remnant, observed by Nasa's space based Chandra
X-ray Observatory. Credit: ICRAR
Image of the remnant as seen at optical wavelengths with the Hubble
Space Telescope in 2011. Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Challis
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics). High resolution versions
at: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2011/21/image/a/format/large_web/
A team of astronomers led by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have succeeded in observing the death throws of a giant star in unprecedented detail.
Deputy Director | ICRAR - UWA
Ph: +61 8 6488 4550 | M: +61 (0) 425 212 592 | E: lister.staveley-smith@icrar.org
Dr Giovanna Zanardo
PhD Candidate | ICRAR - UWA
Ph: +61 8 6488 7755 | M: +61 (0) 414 531 081 | E: giovanna.zanardo@icrar.org
Manager, Outreach & Education | ICRAR
Ph: +61 8 6488 7758 | M: +61 423 982 018 | E: pete.wheeler@icrar.org
Michael Sinclair-Jones
Media Manager | UWA
Ph: +61 8 6488 3229 | M: +61 400 700 783 | E: michael.sinclair-jones@uwa.edu.au
Kirsten Gottschalk
Media Contact | ICRAR
Ph: +61 8 6488 7771 | M: +61 438 361 876 | E: kirsten.gottschalk@icrar.org
Dr Wiebke Ebeling
Education & Outreach Coordinator | CAASTRO
Ph: +61 8 9266 9174 | M: +61 423 933 444 | E: wiebke.ebeling@curtin.edu.au
Radio (contours) (Credit: ICRAR) + Hubble (image overlay)
Overlay of the 7-mm radio image observed with the ATCA (brown–yellow
colour scale for shades and contours) on the Hubble Space telescope
image observed during the same period. (blue–white colour scale).
A team of astronomers led by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have succeeded in observing the death throws of a giant star in unprecedented detail.
In February of 1987 astronomers observing the Large Magellanic Cloud,
a nearby dwarf galaxy, noticed the sudden appearance of what looked
like a new star. In fact they weren’t watching the beginnings of a star
but the end of one and the brightest supernova seen from Earth in the
four centuries since the telescope was invented. By the next morning
news of the discovery had spread across the globe and southern
hemisphere stargazers began watching the aftermath of this enormous
stellar explosion, known as a supernova.
In the two and a half decades since then, the remnant of Supernova
1987A has continued to be a focus for researchers around the world,
providing a wealth of information about one of the Universe’s most
extreme events.
In research published in the Astrophysical Journal today, a team of
astronomers in Australia and Hong Kong have succeeded in using the
Australia Telescope Compact Array, CSIRO radio telescope in northern
New South Wales, to make the highest resolution radio images of the
expanding supernova remnant at millimetre wavelengths.
“Imaging distant astronomical objects like this at wavelengths less
than 1 centimetre demands the most stable atmospheric conditions. For
this telescope these are usually only possible during cooler winter
conditions but even then, the humidity and low elevation of the site
makes things very challenging,” said lead author, Dr Giovanna Zanardo of
ICRAR, a joint venture of Curtin University and The University of
Western Australia in Perth.
Unlike optical telescopes, a radio telescope can operate in the
daytime and can peer through gas and dust allowing astronomers to see
the inner workings of objects like supernova remnants, radio galaxies
and black holes.
“Supernova remnants are like natural particle accelerators, the radio
emission we observe comes from electrons spiralling along the magnetic
field lines and emitting photons every time they turn. The higher the
resolution of the images the more we can learn about the structure of
this object,” said Professor Lister Staveley-Smith, Deputy Director of
ICRAR and CAASTRO, the Centre for All-sky Astrophysics.
Scientists study the evolution of supernovae into supernova remnants
to gain an insight into the dynamics of these massive explosions and the
interaction of the blast wave with the surrounding medium.
“Not only have we been able to analyse the morphology of Supernova
1987A through our high resolution imaging, we have compared it to X-ray
and optical data in order to model its likely history,” said Professor
Bryan Gaensler, Director of CAASTRO at the University of Sydney.
The team suspects a compact source or pulsar wind nebula to be
sitting in the centre of the radio emission, implying that the supernova
explosion did not make the star collapse into a black hole. They will
now attempt to observe further into the core and see what’s there.
Further Information:
Professor Lister Staveley-SmithDeputy Director | ICRAR - UWA
Ph: +61 8 6488 4550 | M: +61 (0) 425 212 592 | E: lister.staveley-smith@icrar.org
Dr Giovanna Zanardo
PhD Candidate | ICRAR - UWA
Ph: +61 8 6488 7755 | M: +61 (0) 414 531 081 | E: giovanna.zanardo@icrar.org
Media Contacts:
Pete WheelerManager, Outreach & Education | ICRAR
Ph: +61 8 6488 7758 | M: +61 423 982 018 | E: pete.wheeler@icrar.org
Michael Sinclair-Jones
Media Manager | UWA
Ph: +61 8 6488 3229 | M: +61 400 700 783 | E: michael.sinclair-jones@uwa.edu.au
Kirsten Gottschalk
Media Contact | ICRAR
Ph: +61 8 6488 7771 | M: +61 438 361 876 | E: kirsten.gottschalk@icrar.org
Dr Wiebke Ebeling
Education & Outreach Coordinator | CAASTRO
Ph: +61 8 9266 9174 | M: +61 423 933 444 | E: wiebke.ebeling@curtin.edu.au
