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SN 1987A — first ultraviolet observation

1987 AD · Transmission: Global

AstronomyTechnologyDiscoveryNorth American

Kirshner, Sonneborn, Crenshaw, and Nassiopoulos obtain the first observation of SN 1987A with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite, barely fourteen hours after its discovery. SN 1987A is the closest visible supernova since Kepler's in 1604, and this ultrafast ultraviolet record became a key reference for the observational study of supernova explosions.

InstitutionHarvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Historical regionUSA

Primary sourceKirshner, R.P., Sonneborn, G., Crenshaw, D.M., Nassiopoulos, G.E. (1987), "Ultraviolet observations of SN 1987A", ApJ 320, 602. DOI: 10.1086/165579

Secondary sourceInternational Ultraviolet Explorer — Wikipedia; SN 1987A: The Unusual Explosion of a Normal Type II Supernova (arXiv:astro-ph/0410275)

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