SN 1987A

SN 1987A is a 1987 supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), about 168000 light-years away, whose light reached Earth on February 23, 1987. Its apparent magnitude at its brightest was +3 in May 1987. Neutrino detectors, including the IMB detected bursts of neutrinos coincident with the supernova EMR reaching Earth. The supernova has been much studied since.

It is considered a core collapse supernova and a portion of their study consists of the study of their remnants. The SN 1987A remnant has more circular symmetry than spherical, suggesting the progenitor's stellar rotation was a factor. Observations of the light curve have shown that the explosion was highly asymmetric, i.e., an anisotropic explosion. There is effort to identify a resulting neutron star, e.g., by comparing observations to observed characteristics of remnants where there is clearer evidence of a neutron star. An apparent pulsar wind nebula (PWN) has been observed.