Title:

SN1987A : The Birth of a Supernova Remnant



Richard McCray
University of Colorado



Abstract:

Nine years after the original explosion, the blast wave of Supernova 1987A
began to strike a ring of circumstellar gas.  Since then, the radiation from
the impact has brightened by orders of magnitude at wavelengths ranging from
radio to X-rays.  Today, at age 18, SN1987A is doubling in brightness on
timescales less than 2 years.  With this event, we can for the first time
observe the birth of a supernova remnant in real time and with sufficient
angular and spectral resolution to begin to understand the fascinating shock
hydrodynamics and kinetics of such an event.  I'll describe what we have
learned from analyzing observations of this event with HST, Chandra,
Spitzer, and ground-based radio and optical telescopes, and some of the
outstanding mysteries that remain.