Related papers: The Supernova 1987A system and its recent evolutio…
Decades-long repeat observations of supernova SN1987A offer us unique, real-time insights into the violent death of a massive star and its long-term environmental effects, until its eventual switch-off.
We discuss the results from deep Chandra LETG observations of the supernova remnant 1987A (SNR 1987A). We find that a distribution of shocks, spanning the same range of velocities (from 300 to 1700 km/s) as deduced in the first part of our…
We present radio imaging observations of supernova remnant 1987A at 9 GHz, taken with the Australia Telescope Compact Array over 21 years from 1992 to 2013. By employing a Fourier modeling technique to fit the visibility data, we show that…
We present imaging and spectroscopic observations with HST and VLT of the ring of SN 1987A from 1994 to 2014. After an almost exponential increase of the shocked emission from the hotspots up to day ~8,000 (~2009), both this and the…
$\sim$18 yr after the supernova explosion, the blast wave of SNR 1987A is entering the main body of the equatorial circumstellar material, which is causing a dramatic brightening of the remnant. We recently reported the observational…
Spitzer's final Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations of SN 1987A show the 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m emission from the equatorial ring (ER) continues a period of steady decline. Deconvolution of the images reveals that the emission is…
The nearby Supernova 1987A was accompanied by a burst of neutrino emission, which indicates that a compact object (a neutron star or black hole) was formed in the explosion. There has been no direct observation of this compact object. In…
We present near-infrared spectroscopic observations of SN 1987A covering the period 1358 to 3158 days post-explosion. This is the first time that IR spectra of a supernova have been obtained to such late epochs. The spectra comprise…
JWST NIRCam observations at 1.5-4.5 $\mu$m have provided broad and narrow band imaging of the evolving remnant of SN 1987A with unparalleled sensitivity and spatial resolution. Comparing with previous marginally spatially resolved Spitzer…
We used low resolution spectroscopy from VLT/FORS1, and high resolution spectra from VLT/UVES, to estimate the physical conditions in the ORs, using nebular analysis for emission lines such as [O II], [O III], [N II], and [S II]. We also…
Context: Supernova 1987A (SN1987A) exploded in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Its proximity and rapid evolution makes it a unique case study of the early phases in the development of a supernova remnant. One particular aspect of interest…
Speckle interferometry observations, made just 30 and 38 days after the explosion of supernova SN1987A (SN) (which was first seen on February 23, 1987), showed evidence for a bright source, separated from the SN by only 60 mas. Reprocessing…
Optical images of SN 1987A show a triple ring structure. The inner (dust) ring has recently increased in brightness and in the number of hot spots suggesting that the supernova shock wave has collided with the dense pre-existing…
The interaction between the expanding supernova (SN) ejecta with the circumstellar material (CSM) that was expelled from the progenitor prior to explosion is a long-sought phenomenon, yet observational evidence is scarce. Here we confirm a…
We have used the Faint Object Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope to observe the spectra of SN 1987A over the wavelength range 2000 -- 8000\ \AA\ on dates 1862 and 2210 days after the supernova outburst. Even these pre-COSTAR…
Since the day of its explosion, SN 1987A (SN87A) was closely monitored with the aim to study its evolution and to detect its central compact relic. The detection of neutrinos from the supernova strongly supports the formation of a neutron…
We summarize the analysis of a uniform set of both previously-known and newly-discovered scattered-light echoes, detected within 30" of SN 1987A in ten years of optical imaging, and with which we have constructed the most complete…
We present extensive observations of the radio emission from the remnant of SN 1987A made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), since the first detection of the remnant in 1990. The radio emission has evolved in time providing…
I review the unwrapping story the SN 1987A explosion event, and the main discoveries associated with it. I will show that, although this supernova is somewhat peculiar, the study of SN 1987A has clarified quite a number of important aspects…
The equatorial ring of Supernova (SN) 1987A has been exposed to forward shocks from the SN blast wave, and it has been suggested that these forward shocks have been causing on-going destruction of dust in the ring. We obtained SOFIA FORCAST…