Supernova 1987A. Computer illustration of Supernova 1987A as its powerful blast wave passes through its outer ring and destroys most of its dust, before the dust re-forms or grows rapidly. Supernova 1987A lies around 163,000 light years from Earth, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, in the constellation of Dorado. Observations from the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) project reveal that this dust - a building block of stars and planets - can re-form or grow immediately after the catastrophic damage caused by the supernova's blast wave.