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Observations of SN 1987A with the COSTAR-corrected Faint Object CameraNew near-ultraviolet and visible (O III) observations of SN 1987A obtained 2511 and 2533 days after outburst with the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) corrected Faint Object Camera (FOC) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) are presented. Even though the supernova is now very faint (m approximately equal to 19), the new data are of dramatically higher quality than those obtained previously with the aberrated telescope. The images -- which are now no longer hampered by the spherical aberration halos of the two nearby companion stars -- reveal a well-resolved symmetrical expanding envelope that can be traced out to a radius of approximately equal to 275 mas or approximately equal to 9400 km/s in the near-UV. The apparent diameter of the ejecta has grown to 255 +/- 2 mas Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) in the near-UV and 167 +/- 5 mas (FWHM) in the visible, in close agreement with the expansion rates inferred from earlier FOC observations obtained on days 1275 and 1754. The improved shell-like crescent has started to form within the inner approximately equals 60 mas core of the nebula.
Document ID
19950040558
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Jakobsen, P.
(European Space Agency Noordwijk, Netherlands)
Jedrzejewski, R.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Macchetto, F.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Panagia, N.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters
Volume: 435
Issue: 1
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astronomy
Accession Number
95A72157
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-26555
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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