Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. At visible wavelengths SN1987A is famous for its evolving rings , and superposed on this image are white contour lines which outline the innermost optical ring as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. The composite picture clearly shows that the X-ray emitting shocked material lies just inside the optical ring. According to a popular model, in coming years the expanding supernova blast wave should hit and light up even more material while the violent impacts send reverse shocks back towards the site of the explosion and light up the ejected stellar debris. In any event , astronomers will watch eagerly from a ringside seat as a new supernova remnant emerges.
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