John M. Blondin (North Carolina State University)

Supernova 1987A was the explosion of a massive star in a nearby galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. One of the mysteries of a supernova such as 1987A is: what does the blast wave of the explosion do to the surrounding space? This movie shows a simulation of a supernova blast wave striking layers of gas and dust surrounding the supernova progenitor star.

Supernova blast wave

Astrophysicists hypothesize that when a supernova blast wave strikes nearby layers of gas and dust, the heat and energy released will create swirling rings, loops, and tendrils of matter glowing and expanding for thousands of years until a gaseous structure called a supernova remnant is created. The Crab Nebula and the Gum Nebula are two famous supernova remnants.

The simulation

This particular movie uses a supercomputer to calculate the complex physical processes involved, studying the details of the birth of a supernova remnant. The different colors in the movie show the amount of heat energy in each part of the blast wave and the proto-remnant as they interact; blue is low energy, yellow is medium energy, and red is high energy.

Charles Liu