Sanduleak -69° 202a

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Sanduleak -69° 202a was a magnitude 12 blue supergiant star, located on the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The star was discovered by the Romanian-American astronomer Nicholas Sanduleak. It was classified as a class of blue supergiants known as luminous blue variables (LBVs) which can produce Type II supernovae. LBVs are notorious for ejecting large amounts of mass in sporadic, violent outbursts. Approximately 168,000 years ago, Sanduleak -69° 202a exploded, creating SN 1987A, which was the first supernova visible to the naked eye from Earth since the invention of the telescope. Light from the supernova reached Earth on February 23, 1987. Four other LBVs (Eta Carinae included) might join it in a few million years.

[edit] See also

• SN 1987A