In the cosmos, time takes its time.

On Earth every minute seems precious: Over a mere 70 years a typical human is born, transformed myriad times and returned to dust. But in a human lifetime, the rest of the universe seems to stand still. Only over millions or billions of years do most cosmic phenomena run their course. Significant evolution of a star is not frequently noticeable in the life of an astronomer.

Now and then, however, the camera captures a precious moment in deep space.

Supernova 1987A is a good example. This exploding star is on the verge of death. In a few decades, the stellar blast wave that shaped this view, as seen by Hubble, will have blown the structure apart as the star spits most of its mass into space.

"So we are very privileged to have seen the delicate glowing rings of gas made by the doomed star just before it self-destructed," Villard said.

Images like this have taught astronomers a lot about how stars die. But there is still much to learn. And even when the technical details are understood, objects like 1987A still inspire awe.

"How can the brute forces of Nature sculpt such an exquisite shape onto the heavens?" Villard wonders, seeming to ask an unanswerable on behalf of all of us.