Image credit: NASA

Evidence has just been found which helps to confirm our understanding of how stars come to an end of their lifecycles by astronomers at Cardiff University in Cardiff, Wales.

The scientists claim they've found evidence of a neutron star which was left behind once a massive star ended its life in a gigantic explosion which led to the formation of Supernova 1987A.

Astronomers have unsuccessfully been trying for over 30 years to locate the neutron star, but it has been hidden behind a very thick cloud of cosmic dust. 

Using extremely sharp and sensitive images which were taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, the team found a patch of the dust cloud that is brighter than its surroundings, and it makes a match with the suspected location of the neutron star.

The findings have been published in latest edition of The Astrophysical Journal.

Dr Phil Cigan, the lead author of the study from Cardiff University's School of Physics and Astronomy, stated: "For the very first time we can tell that there is a neutron star inside this cloud within the supernova remnant. Its light has been veiled by a very thick cloud of dust, blocking the direct light from the neutron star at many wavelengths like fog masking a spotlight."

Dr Mikako Matsuura, another leading member of this study, stated: "Although the light from the neutron star is absorbed by the dust cloud that surrounds it, this in turn makes the cloud shine in sub-millimeter light, which we can now see with the extremely sensitive ALMA telescope."

Supernova 1987A, found in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 160,000 light-years away, was first discovered by astronomers on February 23, 1987. It blazed in the night sky with the power of 100 million suns, and continued to shine very brightly for several months.

This was the nearest supernova explosion observed by humans in over 400 years, and since its discovery it has fascinated astronomers who've had the opportunity to be presented with studies of the phases before, during and after the death of a star.

Temperatures of the gases which were expelled from this supernova reached temperatures of more than a million degrees centigrade. Since then, the gas has cooled down quickly to below zero degrees. During this time, some of the gas transformed into solids such as dust.

This dust is the main explanation of why the neutron star wasn't able to be observed. The lack of the neutron star's evidence made many astronomers sketpical and made them question whether their understanding of a star's lifecycle is correct.

The new findings, as noted by Dr. Matsuura, now enable astronomers to better understand how massive stars end their lives, and that they do indeed leave behind these extremely dense neutron stars.

For further information contact:
Michael Bishop
Cardiff University
Tel: 02920 874499/07713325300
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.