Hi All, yesterday I decided to image a target which I've always been curious about, the remnant of Supernova 1987A, 168,000 light years distant in the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
This target is extremely small, and I was surprised to even be able to see anything in the image at all. To achieve the highest possible resolution I cropped and up-sampled each frame 6x, and then stacked all together using Registax. The result shows a significantly higher resolution than the original prime focus image.
The structure of the remnant is of course not resolved due to its extremely small size (the radius of the inner ring visible in the HST image is only 0.8 arc seconds). However, a distinct patch of pink nebulosity is visible at the expected position.
Image details:
153 x 15s taken on 27/11/2010 with 10" Newtonian f/5 and ToUCam Pro SC1.
No filters, no guiding.
The light from the supernova reached Earth on February 23, 1987. Its brightness peaked in May with an apparent magnitude of about 3 and slowly declined in the following months. SN1987A appears to be a core-collapse supernova, and the progenitor star itself was identified as Sanduleak -69° 202a, a Luminous Blue Variable (LBV). This class of stars is known for ejecting large amounts of mass in sporadic, violent outbursts.
The rings in the HST image are the results of such previous violent mass ejections from the unstable star. These rings were ionized and made visible by the supernova flash. The material from the explosion is now also catching up with and heating this material, and thus causing continuous development in the ring structures around the star.
Some three hours before the visible light from SN1987A reached Earth, a burst of neutrinos was observed at three separate neutrino observatories. This is due to the fact that the emission of visible light occurs only after the shock wave reaches the stellar surface. When the core collapsed, the in-falling material rebounded and caused a shock wave to pass through the star. This shock wave reached the surface a few hours later, travelling at the local speed of sound inside the star. This was the first time neutrinos emitted from a supernova had been observed directly, and the observations were consistent with theoretical supernova models in which 99% of the energy of the collapse is radiated away in neutrinos. Several other LBV stars, including Eta Carinae, might join the fate of Sandulaek -69° 202a in the next few thousand years.
Hope you enjoy. All comments, critique etc is welcome as always.
Regards, Rolf
Wow Rolf, that is the first amateur image of 1987A I have ever seen, that is amazing.
Thanks for posting the images and the information,it is much appreciated
Cheers
This is truely amazing Rolf, I also wanted to try this but it is small at 4.5" width on the HST image and faint, but to get the pink colour is wonderful.
Fabulous work Rolf. This is about the 4th hi res DSO that I have seen you post. Each one is quite interesting. I reckon your best though was you image of Eta Carina. However, this image is still pretty good. Great dedication to the seeking out the unusual. Thanks for posting.
Fantastic work Rolf! I was so impressed I dug out a HDR image of the LMC of mine at six this morning and made this image with your image superimposed with Registar. It is the same orientation as your image. It is full quality jpg about 7MB.
I managed to find an image taken with the Meade SN10 4MB. The Meade SN10 does not resolve the remnant of SN1987a it just smears it with the two adjacent stars.
Wow Rolf, that is the first amateur image of 1987A I have ever seen, that is amazing.
Thanks for posting the images and the information,it is much appreciated
Cheers
Thank you very much Ron, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was quite exciting to see that little speck on the screen, I really didn't know if anything would be visible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stevec35
That's very impressive! I think it's a worthy effort just having a go at something this small and it's turned out very well.
Cheers
Steve
Thanks a lot Steve Yes, it is small indeed
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Hothersall
This is truely amazing Rolf, I also wanted to try this but it is small at 4.5" width on the HST image and faint, but to get the pink colour is wonderful.
John.
Thank you John, your images are very impressive and I'm sure you could get a good image of this one, I'd be very interested to see how it could turn out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Haese
Fabulous work Rolf. This is about the 4th hi res DSO that I have seen you post. Each one is quite interesting. I reckon your best though was you image of Eta Carina. However, this image is still pretty good. Great dedication to the seeking out the unusual. Thanks for posting.
Thanks Paul This is certainly not the most visually striking image but it was very reqarding to capture those few pink pixels I'm happy that you liked it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Octane
You, sir, are a legend.
That's super. : )
H
Thank you H
Quote:
Originally Posted by multiweb
Extreme imaging Rolf and great write-up and presentation.
Thank you Marc, glad you liked it
Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike
Excellent pickup Rolf and very interesting, thanks for the info.
It would be great to upgrade that Web cam huh..? ..although you do very well with it. Like the way you go for interesting stuff, keep it up.
Mike
Thanks very much Mike I'm certainly looking forward to an upgrade soon. I can't imagine what a joy it must be imaging with the equipment some of you guys have - although I might just be blissfully unaware of the complexities that awaits me...
Quote:
Originally Posted by sjastro
Congratulations Rolf on both the image and presentation.
Regards
Steven
Thanks Steven, glad you liked it
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
Very interesting shot Rolf. So it'll make a nice widefield image target like the Vela Supernova Remnant a long time in the future.
Makes you realise just how ancient some of these larger supernova remnants must be.
Greg.
Thank you Greg Yes those wispy remnants are truly ancient. Though SN1987A is also quite a bit further away, in the LMC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alchemy
First real effort I've seen done of this object well done
To go boldly where no imager has gone before
Keep it up
Thank you Clive I'm not aware of any other amateur images of this one either, but I can easily imagine someone must have done it before.
Quote:
Originally Posted by avandonk
Fantastic work Rolf! I was so impressed I dug out a HDR image of the LMC of mine at six this morning and made this image with your image superimposed with Registar. It is the same orientation as your image. It is full quality jpg about 7MB.
I managed to find an image taken with the Meade SN10 4MB. The Meade SN10 does not resolve the remnant of SN1987a it just smears it with the two adjacent stars.
You are welcome to either in any way you want to show the rest of us where SN1987a is in the LMC.
If you need more images do not hesitate to ask.
Bert
Thank you very much Bert Great effort with the composite image, that is really awesome! It really puts it into context. Oh and thanks for pointing out just how pathetically small my chip is - It is all clear now, I really need to upgrade LOL...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lester
Wonderful hi-resolution image Rolf, thanks for the view. All the best.
Thank you Lester
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ric
An awesome image Rolf.
I always enjoy your images of the lesser imaged DSO's
Cheers
Thanks Ric It's exciting to go off the beaten track now and then.
Great work Rolf ! I remember the story when It was hot news in 87...very cool.
Thanks Louie, I remember how frustrated I was that I didn't live in the Southern hemisphere then Couldn't do much about it though, I was only 11 back then...
At least now I'm all ready with front row seats for Eta Carinae!
Great work Rolf!!
Love all your hi res presentations of these hard to obtain objects, the info and comparisons are great.
Very professional indeed.
Great work with the Web cam.
Thanks for sharing this very hard, obscure object with us!