The Dawn of a New Era for Supernova 1987a
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/the-dawn-of-a-new-era-for-supernova-1987a
Three decades ago, astronomers spotted one of the brightest exploding stars in more than 400 years. The titanic supernova, called
Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A), blazed with the power of 100 million suns for several months following its discovery on Feb. 23, 1987.
Since that first sighting, SN 1987A has continued to fascinate astronomers with its spectacular light show. Located in the nearby
Large Magellanic Cloud, it is the nearest supernova explosion observed in hundreds of years and the best opportunity yet for
astronomers to study the phases before, during, and after the death of a star.