Researchers have verified the fate of a star that underwent a spectacular supernova event that was observable from Earth over thirty years ago. The star transformed into a neutron star, which is considered to be one of the most peculiar entities in the cosmos.

In the year 1987, a star located in a neighboring galaxy exploded in a supernova event, and its bright end was visible to the naked eye on Earth for several months during nighttime. Researchers predicted that the star’s core, upon collapsing, would transform into either a black hole, which has an intense gravitational pull that nothing can escape from, or a neutron star, which is one of the densest objects in the universe second only to a black hole.

Unfortunately, there was an overwhelming amount of scattered material, hindering astronomers’ ability to observe beyond the dust. However, the Webb Space Telescope, developed by NASA, was able to penetrate through the chaos by using infrared light and identified two distinct chemical signals, argon and sulfur, that are characteristic of a pulsating, extremely hot neutron star. This research was published in the journal Science on Thursday.

Due to the explosion being recent and closely monitored, this finding is expected to assist astronomers in gaining a deeper understanding of this peculiar cosmic phenomenon and its precursors, which played a crucial role in distributing significant elements like carbon and iron throughout the universe.

This neutron star is only 12 miles (20 kilometers) from end to end, yet weighs 1 1/2 times our sun. It’s densely packed with little space between parts of its atoms. The aftermath of the so-called supernova 1987A is likely the only time modern astronomy has witnessed the birth and early years of a neutron star, even though there are closer but older ones in our own galaxy, scientists said.

According to Claes Fransson, an astrophysicist from Stockholm University in Sweden, these are the most unusual objects in the universe, aside from black holes. They have been known since the 1960s, but their formation has never been observed.

The distant supernova remnant images display a “ring of pearls” surrounding a dust cloud, according to Fransson. He mentioned that the neutron star can be found somewhere within the dust.

Researchers had long held the belief that the condensed center had transformed into a neutron star. However, this observation from the Webb telescope, while not a direct visualization of the neutron star, offers a conclusive confirmation according to Fransson and other experts.

Stanford University astrophysicist Roger Blandford, who was not involved in the study, agrees that the argument for a neutron star is compelling.

According to Blandford, the recent and nearby supernova explosion continues to provide valuable information about neutrinos, star evolution, and post-explosion events.

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Source: wral.com