The three-ring structure of Supernova 1987A

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Abstract
The current scenario for the complex ≤3-arcsec structures surrounding SN 1987A is that they result from the emission of a thin shell of matter surrounding the supernova, illuminated by the initial extreme-ultraviolet flash from the explosion of the progenitor. Before the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) the two ring-shaped loops, ~3 arcsec in size, clearly visible in all images taken more than two years after the explosion in the UV-to-optical continuum, were interpreted as limb brightening of the outer parts of this nebula. However, the 1994 HST images show that these structures are actually ring-like. Accordingly, we propose a different explanation for these two rings: allowing for the presence of a shell, we suggest that the rings are part of this shell brightened by the interaction of the double beam of relativisitic particles emitted from a young pulsar formed after the explosion.

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