Death of a star caught in high definition Photo credit: ICRAR (radio contours) and Hubble (image). AUSTRALIAN scientists have captured the most detailed images yet of the death of a giant star. A team of astronomers led by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Western Australia has revealed new images of the death throes of Supernova 1987A, whose demise was first spotted more than 25 years ago. Lead author Giovanna Zanardo of ICRAR, a joint venture between Perth's Curtin University and the University of Western Australia, said the radio telescope had allowed unprecedented details to be captured. "Unlike optical telescopes, a radio telescope can operate in the daytime and peer through gas and dust, allowing astronomers to see the inner workings of objects like supernova remnants, radio galaxies and black holes," Dr Zanardo said. SN1987A was the closest observed supernova for nearly four centuries when it was spotted by a team of astronomers observing the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way. ICRAR deputy director Lister Staveley-Smith said the detailed images would provide more clues to how and why stars died. Supernova remnants are like natural particle accelerators. The radio emission we observe comes from electrons spiralling along the magnetic field lines and emitting photons every time they turn. Bryan Gaensler, who heads the Centre for All-sky Astrophysics at the University of Sydney, said the team had compared its high resolution images with X-ray and optical data "in order to model its likely history." The team said a compact source or "pulsar wind nebula" was likely to be at the centre of the radio emission, implying that the supernova explosion had not made the star collapse into a black hole. The team now hopes to observe further into the core "and see what's there." Dr Zanardo said imaging distant astronomical objects at wavelengths less than one centimetre demanded "the most stable atmospheric conditions." Australia's atmospheric, geographical and political stability make it an ideal site for radio telescopes. Western Australia is co-hosting the massive Square Kilometre Array project with southern Africa.