When a star dies, it can explode in a supernova, causing a strong shock wave and forming an interstellar object called a supernova remnant (SNR). Observational studies of SNRs allow us to learn about the different types of progenitors, the explosion mechanisms, the physics of interstellar shocks, and the matter cycle in galaxies. Sasaki et al. report on the first detection of SNRs located on the outskirts of a galaxy; namely, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the largest satellite galaxy of our Galaxy. The sources were discovered ∼3 degrees outside the main stellar and gas distribution of the LMC in the recent surveys in radio with ASKAP and in X-rays with eROSITA. Follow-up observations with the XMM-Newton telescope and MeerKAT and confirmed them to be SNRs. Their progenitors are most likely stars that had left the LMC due to tidal interaction between the Magellanic Clouds and the Milky Way.

The image above shows radio continuum images of SNR J0624-6948 at 1250 MHz (MeerKAT, left) and at 943 MHz (ASKAP, right). The resolution in the images is 8 x 8 arcsec for MeerKAT and 15 x 15 arcsec for ASKAP. The white contours in the polarised intensity image indicate the total radio emission in the ASKAP image.