It may look like the Eye of Sauron, but the tiny purple-blue sphere in the image above is actually an incredibly dense neutron star surrounded by stellar debris. The image marks the moment an international team of astronomers found the neutron star hidden inside a giant supernova that exploded 37 years ago.
Named Supernova (SN) 1987A, the exploded star is the most studied supernova and the brightest one in 400 years. For a few months before it faded, it could even be seen with the naked eye from Earth. But what remained hiding at its centre has been a source of mystery for almost four decades.
This story is from the March 2024 edition of BBC Science Focus.
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This story is from the March 2024 edition of BBC Science Focus.
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