The James Webb Space Telescope, the flagship observatory of NASA/ESA/CSA, has turned its gaze toward the supernova remnant SN 1987A, revealing its structure with an unprecedented level of detail. About 400 years after Kepler supernova, which exploded in 1604, the skies of the southern hemisphere witnessed another supernova relatively close to us. This was SN 1987A, which exploded on
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A new theoretical study shows that the filamentary structure observed in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a direct consequence of the processes that occurred in the progenitor star immediately after core collapse. Supernovae are among the most energetic explosive events in the Universe. Yet, despite their immense brightness, they convert only about 1% of their energy
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SN1987A, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, is an object of great importance for the study of supernovae and supernova remnants. In fact, it is the only supernova that has occurred recently and is close enough to allow us to obtain detailed observations across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. SN1987A was a core-collapse supernova, resulting from the collapse of the core
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SN1987A, the supernova exploded in the Large Magellanic Cloud (at about 170000 light years of distance) on February 23rd 1987, was an iconic event for the study of supernovae and supernova remnants. In fact, it is the only case where it was possible to observe (with telescopes) the explosion and to follow with periodic observations the evolution of the supernova
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A supernova is the final act of the evolution of a massive star. These spectacular explosions are among the most energetic events we observe in the Universe, and they can seriously impact the surrounding environment. In particular, during the expansions of the supernova remnants, which are the expanding clouds produced by supernova explosions, the process of star formation in the
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LBV (Luminous Blue Variable) stars are massive and unstable stars characterized by large mass-lost due to intense stellar winds and aperiodic bursts. Due to their instability, LBV stars are also variable, with quasi-periodic oscillations of their luminosity of the order of 0.5-2 magnitudes. Typical examples of this class of stars are: the supergiant S Doradus in the Large Magellanic Clouds,
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Supernova explosions, occurring and the end of the life of massive stars, are ruled by a complex physics, and they can not be described by a simple spherically symmetric geometry. The rarity of these events make even more difficult to understand the physical processes involved during the explosions. For instance, on average only one supernova explodes in our Galaxy every
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Supernova remnants are nebulae created by supernova explosions. These expanding clouds are formed by the interstellar medium shocked and heated up by the expanding shock produced by the explosion, and the knots of material launched by the exploding star, called ejecta. These ejecta are located behind the expanding shock, traveling with lower velocity, and they are heated up by the reverse shock:
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Supernove explosions are repeatedly observed in distant galaxies, which lie at such large distances that it is impossible for us to resolve the geometry of the ejected material and its interaction with the surrounding interstellar and circumstellar clouds. With the only exception of SN 1978A, in the Milky Way and in the nearby galaxies (namely the Magellanic Clouds), we did
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Stars more massive than 9 solar masses end their evolution in spectacular supernova explosions. These explosions are triggered by the gravitational collapse of the core of such massive stars, once the thermonuclear reactions are exhausted and the core is not supported against gravity by the pressure produced by the reactions. Supernovae are not simple spherical explosions, but rather complex phenomena
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