Evolution of debris in supernova 1987A

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 sequence of images shows the debris (the visible part of the shredded star) of supernova 1987A. The first photo was taken in 1994 and the last in 1997, before and after a collision (not visible in the image) between an outward moving blast wave and the innermost parts of the circumstellar ring. The shredded star pictured is heated by radioactive elements created in the supernova explosion.