Around Supernova 1987A; before and after composite.
Caption: The image of the star that exploded to create supernova 1987a (arrowed) is clearly elongated. This does not necessarily indicate any particular peculiarity or a close companion, rather it is the effect of stars by chance aligned along similar lines of sight. Several other examples can be seen in this picture and other, different, blended images are seen in the photograph of the same field taken two weeks after the supernova appeared. The difference in image quality (seeing) between these pictures is an effect of the Earth's atmosphere which was steadier when the plates used to make the pre-supernova picture were taken.
Copyright: (c) 1987 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin
