This image shows the remnant of Supernova 1987A, a stellar explosion in a nearby galaxy that astronomers witnessed in 1987. A shock wave of material unleashed by the stellar blast is slamming into a surrounding ring of gas, causing it to glow.
Some Hubble images use data acquired over several days of observations.
Note: Exposure Dates December 6-9, 2006, Exposure Time: 4.2 hours