SN 1987A

Transient

The nearest supernova seen since the invention of the telescope, and the first whose neutrinos were detected on Earth, three hours before the light arrived.

Facts

TypeTransient
Event typeSupernova
Distance from Earth168,000 ly
Apparent magnitude2.9
Redshift0.0009
Discovered1987

SN 1987A in context

The light reaching us from SN 1987A tonight left it around 168,000 years ago.

Of the 5 transients these pages cover, only 1 lie closer to us.

Its light arrives redshifted by z = 0.0009, stretched on the way here by the universe's expansion.

It has been on record since 1987.

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