Astronomers used to believe the heavens were static; only the planets and Sun moved across a frozen backdrop of stars. Indeed, distances in astronomy are so great and objects so large that most changes in the sky are imperceptible over a human lifetime. There are, however, events that happen more rapidly and can be witnessed with the unaided eye. This before-and-after visible light image of Supernova 1987aΓÇönamed because it was the first supernova observed that yearΓÇöshows such an event. Separated by several days, the images dramatically demonstrate how a single star can rapidly brighten and outshine everything around it. Located near the Tarantula Nebula in the Large
