The great supernova of 1987

Journal Article · Tue Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · Scientific American; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0889-32· OSTI ID:6905030

Woosley, S; Weaver, T

On February 23, 1987, a burst of light and a pulse of elusive particles called neutrinos reached the earth from the brightest supernova in 383 years. Light from the explosion, 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud was visible only in the Southern Hemisphere. Now more than two years after the discovery, the supernova has been studied at all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, and it is the first astronomical source of neutrinos to have been detected other than the sun. Together the observations give a coherent picture of the grand event, a picture that vindicates theory but also holds some surprises. In the broadest terms SN 1987A is a type II supernova, powered by the gravitational collapse of a stellar core. To make sense of what was observed in SN 1987A, it is best to begin with the history of the star that exploded. The story that follows in this paper is based on computer simulations of the evolution of a hypothetical massive star. 7 figs.

• OSTI ID: 6905030
• Journal Information: Scientific American; (USA), Journal Name: Scientific American; (USA) Vol. 261:2; ISSN SCAMA; ISSN 0036-8733
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640102* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANNIHILATION
BASIC INTERACTIONS
CLASSIFICATION
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
DETECTION
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERACTIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
FERMIONS
FLUIDS
GALAXIES
GAMMA RADIATION
GASES
GIANT STARS
GRAVITATIONAL COLLAPSE
HELIUM
HYDROGEN
INTERACTIONS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
LEPTONS
LUMINOSITY
MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NEUTRINOS
NEUTRON STARS
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PULSARS
PULSES
RADIATIONS
RARE GASES
RED GIANT STARS
SEMIMETALS
SHOCK WAVES
SILICON
SIMULATION
STAR BURNING
STAR EVOLUTION
STAR MODELS
STARS
SULFUR
SUPERGIANT STARS
SUPERNOVAE
SYNTHESIS
VARIABLE STARS