Supernova remnant 1987A. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of the glowing ring of gas that is the remains of supernova 1987A. SN1987A is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. It is thought the ring is made up of gases ejected some 20,000 years before the central star ended its life in a supernova explosion in February 1987. The ring was illuminated by light from the explosion, but faded over time. This image shows the ring glowing brightly, as a shock wave travelling from the explosion collides with the ring of gas. This image was taken on 28 November 2003 by the Advanced Camera for Surveys.