SN 1987A: The Supernova of the Century

Supernova 1987 A in the Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the most intensively studied objects in the universe and a Rosetta Stone for understanding the explosions of massive stars. Approaching its 25th anniversary, SN 1987 A is a very young supernova remnant, a phase previously unobserved in any other supernova. The supernova of the 20th Century is now the supernova remnant of the 21st Century. In this talk I will discuss recent observations from the far-ultraviolet to the far-infrared with HST, the VLT, Spitzer, and the Herschel Space Observatory. These data reveal new insights into the composition, geometry, and heating of the explosion debris, the shock interaction with circumstellar material, and dust in the SN 1987 A system.