HST Spectroscopy of Spot 1 on the Circumstellar Ring of SN 1987A

Abstract

We present ultraviolet and optical spectra of the first bright spot (PA = 29 degrees) on Supernova 1987A's equatorial circumstellar ring taken with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. We interpret this spot as the emission produced by radiative shocks that occur where the supernova blast wave strikes an inward protrusion of the ring. The observed line widths and intensity ratios indicate the presence of radiative shocks with velocities ranging from 100 to 250 km s^-1 entering dense (> 10^4 cm^-3) gas. These observations, and future observations of the development of the spectra and line profiles, provide a unique opportunity to study the hydrodynamics of radiative shocks.

arXiv commentAccepted by ApJL on Aug. 3, 2000

References in corpus (6)

• The Line Emission from the Circumstellar Gas Around SN 1987A
• Spatially Resolved STIS Spectroscopy of SN 1987A: Evidence for Shock Interaction with Circumstellar Gas
• On the Emergence and Discovery of Hot Spots in Supernova Remnant 1987A
• SN 1987A's Circumstellar Envelope, II: Kinematics of the Three Rings and the Diffuse Nebula
• New HST Observations of High Velocity Lyman Alpha and Balmer Alpha in SNR 1987A
• Flash ionization of the partially ionized wind of the progenitor of SN 1987A

Cited by in corpus (26)

• The Structure of the Homunculus: I. Shape and Latitude Dependence from H2 and [Fe II] Velocity Maps of Eta Carinae
• The jet-powered optical nebula of Cygnus X-1
• Discovery of a nearby twin of SN1987A's nebula around the luminous blue variable HD168625: Was Sk--69 202 an LBV?
• Galactic Twins of the Ring Nebula Around SN1987A and a Possible LBV-like Phase for Sk-69 202
• Multi-frequency Radio Measurements of SN 1987A over 22 Years
• Monitoring the Evolution of the X-ray Remnant of SN 1987A
• And in the Darkness Bind Them: Equatorial Rings, B[e] Supergiants, and the Waists of Bipolar Nebulae
• Modelling the Hubble Space Telescope Ultraviolet and Optical Spectrum of Spot 1 on the Circumstellar Ring of SN 1987A
• The X-ray Spectrum of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• A Chandra View of The Morphological And Spectral Evolution of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Evolution and Geometry of Hot Spots in Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Supernova Remnant 1987A: Opening the Future by Reaching the Past
• Evolutionary Status of SNR 1987A at the Age of Eighteen
• Chandra LETG Observations of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Infrared Continuum and Line Evolution of the Equatorial Ring around SN 1987A
• A disrupted circumstellar torus inside eta Carinae's Homunculus Nebula
• Physical Conditions in Circumstellar Gas surrounding SN 1987A 12 Years After Outburst
• Thirty years of SN 1980K: Evidence for light echoes
• Evolution of the Reverse Shock Emission from SNR 1987A
• The reverse shock of SNR1987A at 18 years after outburst
• Coronal emission from the shocked circumstellar ring of SN 1987A
• A New Evolutionary Phase of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Supernova Remnant 1987A: The Latest Report from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory
• Narrow Lines in Type II Supernovae -- Probing the Circumstellar Nebulae of the Progenitors
• Chandra Observations of SNR 1987A
• The Late-time Expansion of the Ejecta of SN 1987A