The star that exploded on February 23 in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The star that exploded on February 23 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (the progenitor of supernova 1987A) has now been identified. It was catalogued by in 1969 as an OB star of 12th magnitude and given the designation Sanduleak-69 202. Observations at the European Southern Observatory in the mid-1970's allowed to classify it as of spectral type B3 I, that is a very hot, supergiant star.

Bildnachweis:

ESO

Über das Bild

ID:eso8705b
Typ:Beobachtung
Veröffentlichungsdatum:3. März 1987
Dazugehörige Veröffentlichungen:eso8705
Größe:1374 x 1761 px

Über das Objekt

Name:LMC, Sanduleak-69 202
Typ:Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Irregular
Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Blue Supergiant
Kategorie:Stars

Bildformate

Großes JPEG
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