The James Webb Space Telescope, the flagship observatory of NASA/ESA/CSA, has turned its gaze toward the supernova remnant SN 1987A, revealing its structure with an unprecedented level of detail. About 400 years after Kepler supernova, which exploded in 1604, the skies of the southern hemisphere witnessed another supernova relatively close to us. This was SN 1987A, which exploded on
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Analysis of X-ray observations of the SN1987A supernova remnant, obtained by the XMM-Newton satellite, provides new insights into the interaction between the supernova shock wave and the circumstellar material, as well as the oxygen abundance in the remnant. The SN1987A supernova remnant is undoubtedly one of the most iconic objects for studying supernovae, their remnants, and the final stages
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The role of supernova remnants (expanding clouds produced by supernovae) in the acceleration of cosmic rays (high-energy particles present in various astrophysical environments) has been known since 1995. The discovery, made by astronomers from Kyoto University, was made possible by identifying the presence of non-thermal X-ray emission in the supernova remnant SN 1006. X-rays are a type of high-energy radiation
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Supernova remnants, which are nebulae produced by explosion of supernovae and undergoing rapid expansion, typically serve as intense sources of high-energy radiation, particularly in the form of X-ray emissions. This radiation can be of two different types: thermal and non-thermal. Thermal radiation is emitted by dense material and is contingent upon the temperature of the emitting gas. To emit X-rays,
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Without any doubts, the supernova remnants SN1987A is the one that taught us more about this class of objects and supernova exposions. Produced by a supernova exploded in the Large Magellanic Cloud on February 23rd 1987, this is the only case in which we have observations of the progenitor, of the supernova explosion, and in which we follow the development
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Supernova remnants (expanding clouds produced by the explosion of massive stars) are fascinating objects. Their study, in fact, can unveil the physical processes working during supernova explosions and even the properties of the stellar progenitors. To these aims, of particular importance is the analysis of the physical and chemical properties of the ejecta (which are the fragments of the dying
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Our planet is constantly bombarded by energetic particles (mainly protons) called “cosmic rays“. The study of cosmic rays is a leading science topic given its importance in several fields, such as the study of the effects on instrumentation and astronauts in space, where the natural protection against these particles provided by the magnetic field of Earth is low or null.
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Supernova remnants are clouds in rapid expansion formed by supernova explosions. Typically, these remnants are very inhomogeneous. These inhomogeneity is the result of the interaction between the expanding remnant and the surrounding material, and, in particular when they are generated by core-collapse supernova explosions (which are the supernova triggered by the gravitational collapse of the cores of massive stars), also to anisotropies formed
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Supernova remnants are clouds in rapid expansion produced by supernova explosions. They are often characterized by a complex morphology, resulting from the interaction between the expanding remnants and surrounding clouds. Supernova remnants also emit radiation on a wide band of the electromagnetic spectrum. This is due to the variety of phenomena occurring in these objects, and because of the different
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Supernove explosions are repeatedly observed in distant galaxies, which lie at such large distances that it is impossible for us to resolve the geometry of the ejected material and its interaction with the surrounding interstellar and circumstellar clouds. With the only exception of SN 1978A, in the Milky Way and in the nearby galaxies (namely the Magellanic Clouds), we did
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