SN 1987A (Supernova)

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Image from Wikimedia by ESO CC Licence
SN1987 was near the Tarantula Nebula, in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The 19 A.T. supernova event, known in the centuries following its discovery as SN 1987A, was caused by an explosion of a blue supergiant star Sanduleak −69 202 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, circa 165 000 years B.T. It was notable for being the first supernova observed by the nascent Terragen civilization through telescopes that was visible to a naked (baseline human) eye, and more generally for being the first such event in several centuries following the observations of 397 (SN 1572) and 365 A.T. (SN 1604). However, several supernovae are now known to have occurred in the Milky Way in the meantime, and were all obscured by dust clouds, preventing them from being recognized as such at the time. SN 1987A retained its status as the first observed supernova, as well as the only known supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud for several decades into the first century A.T.

By a cosmic coincidence, Terragen civilization was not the only one impacted by this event. The light from the supernova has reached Tsin'gakh, the home system of the Pas'utu'ril, in the year 155,926 B.T. By then, the Pas'utu'ril civilization was undergoing rapid industrialization, but it was still a few decades away from launching its first true spacecraft. However, unlike the Terragens, the Pas'utu'ril did not require sophisticated methods in order to be fascinated by the occurrence - burning brightly only slightly over 9000 ly away from their planet, the supernova briefly became one of the brightest objects in the Tsi'wadzj skies. As one of the first supernovae in the Local Group observed by the Pas'utu'ril, and the first in their native Large Magellanic Cloud, the event served as a watershed moment in their development of radio astronomy, as the Pas'utu'ril studied the radio waves from the supernova's aftermath and noted that this was the part of the spectrum most suitable for that purpose. At the time their civilization sent the broadcast, it remained one of the most culturally significant astronomical events among the Pas'utu'ril, even though several supernovae have been observed since in their galaxy.

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Supernova

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Astronomy

Development Notes

Text by Evil Dodo
Initially published on 10 July 2025.

Additional Information

Image from ESO via Wikimedia; image cropped and adjusted
CC licence here
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eso0708a.jpg

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