TY - JOUR
T1 - JWST MIRI Imager Observations of Supernova SN 1987A
AU - Blommaert, Joris
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Some/all of the data presented in this article were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-03127 for JWST. The specific observations analyzed can be accessed via DOI: 10.17909/k6j3-vm72 . These observations are associated with program #1232. L.L. acknowledges support from the NSF through grant 2054178. OCJ acknowledges support from an STFC Webb fellowship. C.N. acknowledges the support of an STFC studentship. M.M. and N.H. acknowledge that a portion of their research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). M.M. and N.H. acknowledge support through NASA/JWST grant 80NSSC22K0025. P.J.K. and J.J. acknowledge support from the Science Foundation Ireland/Irish Research Council Pathway program under grant No. 21/PATH-S/9360. M.J.B. acknowledges support from the European Research Council Advanced Grant 694520 SNDUST. O.N. acknowledges the NASA Postdoctoral Program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities under contract with NASA. A.S.H. is supported in part by an STScI Postdoctoral Fellowship. L.C. acknowledges support by grant PIB2021-127718NB-100, from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation/State Agency of Research MCIN/AEI/10.13039/50110001103. C.F. and J.L. acknowledge support from the Swedish Space Agency. T.T. acknowledges financial support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council and the UK Space Agency. J.B. and B.V. thank the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) for the provision of financial support in the framework of the PRODEX Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). Finally, we thank the referee for the comments and constructive advice.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2024/4/1
Y1 - 2024/4/1
N2 - There exist very few mid-infrared (IR) observations of supernovae (SNe) in general. Therefore, SN 1987A, the closest visible SN in 400 yr, gives us the opportunity to explore the mid-IR properties of SNe, the dust in their ejecta, and the surrounding medium and to witness the birth of an SN remnant (SNR). The James Webb Space Telescope, with its high spatial resolution and extreme sensitivity, gives a new view on these issues. We report on the first imaging observations obtained with the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI). We build temperature maps and discuss the morphology of the nascent SNR. Our results show that the temperatures in the equatorial ring (ER) are quite nonuniform. This could be due to dust destruction in some parts of the ring, as had been assumed in some previous works. We show that the IR emission extends beyond the ER, illustrating the fact that the shock wave has now passed through this ring to affect the circumstellar medium on a larger scale. Finally, while submillimeter Atacama Large Millimeter Array observations have hinted at the location of the compact remnant of SN 1987A, we note that our MIRI data have found no such evidence.
AB - There exist very few mid-infrared (IR) observations of supernovae (SNe) in general. Therefore, SN 1987A, the closest visible SN in 400 yr, gives us the opportunity to explore the mid-IR properties of SNe, the dust in their ejecta, and the surrounding medium and to witness the birth of an SN remnant (SNR). The James Webb Space Telescope, with its high spatial resolution and extreme sensitivity, gives a new view on these issues. We report on the first imaging observations obtained with the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI). We build temperature maps and discuss the morphology of the nascent SNR. Our results show that the temperatures in the equatorial ring (ER) are quite nonuniform. This could be due to dust destruction in some parts of the ring, as had been assumed in some previous works. We show that the IR emission extends beyond the ER, illustrating the fact that the shock wave has now passed through this ring to affect the circumstellar medium on a larger scale. Finally, while submillimeter Atacama Large Millimeter Array observations have hinted at the location of the compact remnant of SN 1987A, we note that our MIRI data have found no such evidence.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85189918110
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ad2770
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ad2770
M3 - Article
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 965
JO - The Astrophysical Journal
JF - The Astrophysical Journal
IS - 1
M1 - 51
ER -