10 Years After First Being Observed, Supernova Will Put On Another Show

A star whose explosion was seen on Earth a decade ago as the brightest supernova in 400 years is about to put on another celestial show. Supernova 1987A, visible only south of the equator, is beginning to brighten again as debris clouds expelled from its explosion at nearly 6 million mph smash into a ring of hydrogen that encircled the star before it died, astronomer Richard McCray of the University of Colorado told a meeting of the American Astronautical Society in Toronto.

Because of its distance, light from Supernova 1987A, which is in the Large Magellanic Cloud, has taken about 160,000 years to reach Earth. Astronomers said its new brightening will be visible only by telescope. But the show is teaching the experts about the inner workings of a supernova with views never before seen with modern equipment.