Abstract
SUPERNOVA 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the closest known supernova for 400 years, offers unprecedented opportunities for the detailed study of the evolution of a supernova at all wavelengths. The radio remnant of SN1987A was detected in July 1990 (ref. 1), since when it has steadily brightened at all radio frequencies2. Its present brightness and size are now sufficient for its structure to be resolved. Here, we present high-resolution images of the remnant at a frequency of 8.8 GHz, which reveal a spherical, shell-like structure with a radius of 0.6 arcsec (4 × 1017 cm, assuming a distance of 50 kpc) and an additional component that is aligned with the optical ring (of somewhat larger radius) imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope3. We suggest that this alignment arises from an interaction between the expanding shock wave and dense clouds sheared from the ring. The mean expansion velocity of the supernova shock front, as measured from its current radio size, is ∼30,000 km s−1. Observations made over 600 days suggest, however, that either the remnant is rapidly changing shape or that the expansion velocity is decreasing more rapidly than expected.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Turtle, A. J., Campbell-Wilson, D., Manchester R. N., Staveley-Smith, L. & Kesteven, M. J. IAU Circ. 5086 (1990).
Staveley-Smith, L. et al. Nature 355, 147–149 (1992).
Jakobsen, P. et al. Astrophys. J. 369, L63–L66 (1991).
Turtle, A. J. et al. Nature 327, 38–40 (1987).
The Australia Telescope J. Electr. Electron. Eng. Aust. 12, 103–232 (special issue, June June 1992).
Chevalier, R. A. Nature 355, 617–618 (1992).
Ball, L. & Kirk, J. G. Astrophys. J. 396, L39–L42 (1992).
Weiler, K. W. et al. Astrophys. J. 336, 421–428 (1989).
Chevalier, R. A. Astrophys. J. 259, 302–310 (1982).
Crotts, A. P. S. & Heathcote, S. R. Nature 350, 683–685 (1991).
Narayan, R. & Nityananda, R. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 24, 127–170 (1986).
Cornwell, T. J. & Evans, K. F. Astr. Astrophys. 143, 77–83 (1985).
Staveley-Smith, L., Manchester, R. N., Kesteven, M. J., Tzioumis, A. K. & Reynolds, J. E. Proc. astr. Soc. Austr. (in the press).
Bartel, N. IAU Symposium 129, The Impact of VLBI on Astrophysics and Geophysics (eds. Reid, M. J. & Moran, J. M., 175–184 (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1988).
Castor, J., McCray, R. & Weaver, R. Astrophys. J. 200, L107–L110 (1975).
Dyson, J. E. & de Vries, J. Astr. Astrophys. 20, 223–232 (1972).
Chevalier, R. A. Astrophys. J. 258, 790–797 (1982).
Ostriker, J. P. & McKee, C. F. Rev. Mod. Phys. 60, 1–68 (1988).
Kesteven, M. J. & Caswell, J. L. Astr. Astrophys. 183, 118–128 (1987).
Luo, D. & McCray, R. Astrophys. J. 379, 659–662 (1991).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Staveley-Smith, L., Briggs, D., Rowe, A. et al. Structure of the radio remnant of supernova 1987A. Nature 366, 136–138 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/366136a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/366136a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
The shaping of planetary nebulae and the SN 1987A nebula
Astrophysics and Space Science (1996)
-
Discovery of shell-like radio-structure in SN1993J
Nature (1995)
-
The shape, expansion rate and distance of supernova 1993J from VLBI measurements
Nature (1994)