[HN Gopher] The Dawn of a New Era for Supernova 1987a (2017)
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       The Dawn of a New Era for Supernova 1987a (2017)
        
       Author : raattgift
       Score  : 117 points
       Date   : 2024-10-22 23:09 UTC (23 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (science.nasa.gov)
 (TXT) w3m dump (science.nasa.gov)
        
       | jb1991 wrote:
       | Needs (2017) on title.
        
       | elhospitaler wrote:
       | That time-lapse video is insane!
        
       | raverbashing wrote:
       | This has been one material that has taught me a lot about SN1987A
       | (a recreation of live events of when it happened, it used to be a
       | twitter acct but now it is archived
       | https://bmonreal.github.io/RealTime1987A/ )
        
         | ucsbphysics wrote:
         | yes! cool to see a ben monreal mention too, he taught me intro
         | and nuclear physics once upon a time.
        
       | empiricus wrote:
       | I am wondering which visible cosmic events are actually some
       | alien constructs.
        
         | m463 wrote:
         | or ... destructs
        
         | GJim wrote:
         | Arthur C Clarke once suggested some supernova may be industrial
         | accidents.
         | 
         | It's a strangely romantic idea and one that is Clarke through
         | and through!
        
           | tristramb wrote:
           | In Alastair Reynolds' "House of Suns", the Gentian Line of
           | spacefarers construct "stardams" around stars to prevent
           | their supernova outbursts from harming nearby civilizations.
        
             | sandworm101 wrote:
             | Given the amount of empty space out there, the amount of
             | black between stars, it would seem more efficient to create
             | shields around the civilizations than around the stars
             | themselves.
        
               | restalis wrote:
               | "Efficient" in the economical sense, that is. Unless, the
               | civilization covers a very wide area (basically
               | everywhere in there, for light years around the impending
               | supernova) and the protection amounted for each and every
               | civilization zone would surpass the containment
               | circle/cylinder/sphere around the star. In such case the
               | sensible solution becomes to just recognize the area that
               | can not be saved (no mater what) due to its proximity to
               | the star and the limits of walling withstanding capacity,
               | evacuate that, and set the containment all around the
               | future explosion as close as possible instead.
        
           | woolcap wrote:
           | Brings new meaning and scale to the idea of a RUD.
        
           | dotancohen wrote:
           | Bridges nicely with the Asimov story of a civilization that
           | prepares for its supernova by constructing a monument to
           | survive it.
        
             | acheron wrote:
             | That was a Clarke story too, at least the one I remember:
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star_(Clarke_short_story)
             | 
             | I don't remember an Asimov one, but maybe he did one too;
             | he wrote a whole lot of stories and I certainly haven't
             | read all of them.
        
               | dotancohen wrote:
               | Yes, that's the story.
               | 
               | I probably read it three or four decades ago, along with
               | others by those two authors and Heinlein as well. Easily
               | confused, as I now live with a dog named Asimov!
        
           | svieira wrote:
           | This kind of "things we think are natural are actually the
           | product of intelligences much larger than we currently can
           | imagine" is all throughout John C. Wright's "Count to the
           | Eschaton" sequence as well.
        
       | yread wrote:
       | This is how jwst sees it
       | https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/webb-finds-evidence-f...
        
         | baq wrote:
         | the NIRCam image without markings:
         | https://esawebb.org/images/SN1987a-1/
        
       | Grandeculio wrote:
       | The next step is to find evidence of a neutron star or black hole
       | left behind.
        
         | sirto wrote:
         | They possibly already found a neutron star inside the remains:
         | https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/webb-finds-evidence-f...
        
       | xeyownt wrote:
       | This is clearly one supernova to rule them all!
        
       | pohl wrote:
       | What are some thoughts about why we're basically seeing a flat
       | ring, rather than a spherical shell of a cloud in all directions?
        
         | readyplayernull wrote:
         | High speed rotation in an axis?
        
         | ASalazarMX wrote:
         | According to this article, this explosion is hourglass-shaped
         | rather than spherical, due to the previous behavior of the
         | star.
         | 
         | https://www.astronomy.com/science/why-does-supernova-1987a-l...
        
         | jdhwosnhw wrote:
         | The column mass (ie, the spatial density multiplied by the
         | length of the observer's line of sight through the material) is
         | highest at the limbs when looking at a gaseous shell. So shells
         | like this look like rings from all angles. A related effect
         | called limb darkening is the edges of the sun always look less
         | bright, independent of viewing angle
        
         | alfiopuglisi wrote:
         | The ring is not a product of the supernova. It's pre-existing
         | material, that is being energized by impact of the supernova
         | ejecta (it took a few months for it to start brightening).
         | 
         | There are actually three rings, a smaller one around the
         | previous star's equator, and two larger ones above and below.
         | The hourglass-like figure is actually quite common, produced by
         | the star rotaton.
        
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       (page generated 2024-10-23 23:01 UTC)