Click on image for larger view. It has been 13 years since the brightest supernova in centuries appeared in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The expanding debris of Supernova 1987A has been fading ever since, but astronomers have been anticipating a resurgence, as the outflowing gas collides with a ring of material believed to have been ejected 20,000 years before the original star exploded. In 1997, a bright knot appeared on the ring, indicating that the shock wave had arrived. Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope this month have revealed more hot spots.
Astronomers expect the supernova remnant to become strong source of radio and X-ray emission.
It is a composite of two frames. The image reveals features as small as 35 meters across. Scientists believe the gouge is relatively recent, because it has fewer impact craters than the rest of Eros's surface. Courtesy Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Click on image for larger view.