Ring-shaped nebula around SN 1987A

Enlargement of a NII image of supernova SN 1987A taken by the NTT, at La Silla Observatory, almost five years after the explosion. During this time, the supernova had displayed various interesting phenomena, never observed before in an object of this type. A ring-shaped nebula around the supernova is visible. SN 1987A is located in the South-West of the Tarantula Nebula, a huge star formation region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This supernova is one of the most studied objects in modern astronomy and ESO telescopes have played a major role in this campaign.

More information in ESO Messenger 66, p35:

http://www.eso.org/sci/publications/messenger/archive/no.66-dec91/messenger-no66.pdf