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Supernova 1987A

The blue giant Sanduleak -69 202 A, part of a binary, was virtually unknown before 1987. It is not part of the Milky Way but of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a companion of our galaxy.
In 1987 it exploded as a supernova (of type II), the first since 1604 visible to the naked eye. However the supernova was relatively weak, only 10% of the expected, but still some billion times brighter than the Sun.

The expected neutron star hasn't been discovered yet.

The progenitor star Sanduleak -69 202:
Constellation: Dorado
Age: circa 12 million years
Distance: 179 000 light-years

Sanduleak -69 202 A

Spectral class: B3
Visual magnitude (developing of the SN): 12 - 2.9 - 18.5
Luminosity: 100 000 * Sun
Mass: 18 * Sun
Diameter: 40 * Sun
  

Sanduleak -69 202 B

Spectral class: B2

Luminosity: 22 000 * Sun
Mass: 12 * Sun
Diameter: 11 * Sun

Back: List of Special Stars part 2 		    Supernova 1987A
In the center is the supernova remnant, the nebula doesn't belong to it.
Photo: Nasa, Hubble Telescope
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