SN 1979C Research Articles

Seven Years of Coordinated Chandra–NuSTAR Observations of SN 2014C Unfold the Extreme Mass-loss History of Its Stellar Progenitor

We present the results from our 7 yr long broadband X-ray observing campaign of SN 2014C with Chandra and NuSTAR. These coordinated observations represent the first look at the evolution of a young extragalactic SN in the 0.3–80 keV energy range in the years after core collapse. We find that the spectroscopic metamorphosis of SN 2014C from an ordinary type Ib SN into an interacting SN with copious hydrogen emission is accompanied by luminous X-rays reaching L x ≈ 5.6 × 1040 erg s−1 (0.3–100 keV) at ∼1000 days post-explosion and declining as L x ∝ t −1 afterwards. The broadband X-ray spectrum is of thermal origin and shows clear evidence for cooling after peak, with . Soft X-rays of sub-keV energy suffer from large photoelectric absorption originating from the local SN environment with . We interpret these findings as the result of the interaction of the SN shock with a dense (n ≈ 105 − 106 cm−3), H-rich disk-like circumstellar medium (CSM) with inner radius ∼2 × 1016 cm and extending to ∼1017 cm. Based on the declining NHint(t) and X-ray luminosity evolution, we infer a CSM mass of ∼(1.2 f–2.0 , where f is the volume filling factor. We place SN 2014C in the context of 121 core-collapse SNe with evidence for strong shock interaction with a thick circumstellar medium. Finally, we highlight the challenges that the current mass-loss theories (including wave-driven mass loss, binary interaction, and line-driven winds) face when interpreting the wide dynamic ranges of CSM parameters inferred from observations.

Seven Years of SN 2014C: A Multiwavelength Synthesis of an Extraordinary Supernova

SN 2014C was originally classified as a Type Ib supernova, but at phase ϕ = 127 days, post-explosion strong Hα emission was observed. SN 2014C has since been observed in radio, infrared, optical and X-ray bands. Here we present new optical spectroscopic and photometric data spanning ϕ = 947–2494 days post-explosion. We address the evolution of the broadened Hα emission line, as well as broad [O iii] emission and other lines. We also conduct a parallel analysis of all publicly available multiwavelength data. From our spectra, we find a nearly constant Hα FWHM velocity width of ∼2000 km s−1 that is significantly lower than that of other broadened atomic transitions (∼3000–7000 km s−1) present in our spectra ([O i] λ6300; [O iii] λ λ4959, 5007; He i λ7065; [Ca ii] λ λ7291, 7324). The late radio data demand a fast forward shock (∼10,000 km s−1 at ϕ = 1700 days) in rarified matter that contrasts with the modest velocity of the Hα. We propose that the infrared flux originates from a toroidal-like structure of hydrogen surrounding the progenitor system, while later emission at other wavelengths (radio, X-ray) likely originates predominantly from the reverse shock in the ejecta and the forward shock in the quasi-spherical progenitor He-wind. We propose that the Hα emission arises in the boundary layer between the ejecta and torus. We also consider the possible roles of a pulsar and a binary companion.

Multiwavelength View of the Type IIn Zoo: Optical to X-Ray Emission Model of Interaction-powered Supernovae

Abstract Transients powered by interaction with the circumstellar medium (CSM) are often observed in wavelengths other than the optical, and multiwavelength modeling can be important when inferring the properties of the explosion and CSM, or for distinguishing from other powering mechanisms. We develop a model calculating the time-dependent emission spectrum of interaction-powered transients. We solve the energy equations of electron–proton plasma in the shocked supernova ejecta and CSM and the radiation transfer equation out to the outer edge of the CSM, incorporating collisional relaxation and the Comptonization of bremsstrahlung radiation. We compare our model to observations of Type IIn supernovae covering a frequency range from the optical to X-rays. For SN 2010jl the observed optical and X-ray light curves can be consistently explained if a clumpy or asymmetric structure in the CSM is assumed, in agreement with previous studies. For SN 2014C our model successfully reproduces the X-ray bremsstrahlung component and the emergence of Hα emission at 400 days after explosion. Finally we find a parameter space where the supernova is extremely X-ray bright, reaching 1043–1044 erg s−1, for up to 100 days. Such X-ray transients are likely to be detectable with all-sky surveys by, e.g., eROSITA.

Outside the Wall: Hydrodynamics of Type I Supernovae Interacting with a Partially Swept-up Circumstellar Medium

Abstract Explaining the observed diversity of supernovae (SNe) and the physics of explosion requires knowledge of their progenitor stars, which can be obtained by constraining the circumstellar medium (CSM). Models of the SN ejecta colliding with the CSM are necessary to infer the structure of the CSM and tie it back to a progenitor model. Recent SNe I revealed CSM concentrated at a distance r ∼ 1016 cm, for which models of SN interaction are extremely limited. In this paper, we assume the concentrated region is a “wall” representing swept-up material, and unswept material lies outside the wall. We simulate one-dimensional hydrodynamics of SNe Ia and Ib impacting 300 unique CSM configurations using RT1D, which captures the Rayleigh–Taylor instability. We find that the density ratio between the wall and ejecta—denoted A 0 or “wall height”—is key, and higher walls deviate more from self-similar evolution. Functional fits accounting for A 0 are presented for the forward-shock radius evolution. We show that higher walls have more degeneracy between CSM properties in the deceleration parameter, slower shocks, deeper-probing reverse shocks, slower shocked ejecta, less ejecta mass than CSM in the shock, and more mixing of ejecta into the CSM at early times. We analyze observations of SN 2014C (Type Ib) and suggest that it had a moderately high wall (10 ≲ A 0 ≲ 200) and wind-like outer CSM. We also postulate an alternate interpretation for the radio data of SN 2014C, that the radio rise occurs in the wind rather than the wall. Finally, we find that hydrodynamic measurements at very late times cannot distinguish the presence of a wall, except perhaps as an anomalously wide shock region.

Supernova 2014C: Ongoing Interaction with Extended Circumstellar Material with Silicate Dust

Abstract Supernova (SN) 2014C is unique: a seemingly typical hydrogen-poor SN that started to interact with a dense, hydrogen-rich circumstellar medium (CSM) ∼100 days post-explosion. The delayed interaction suggests a detached CSM shell, unlike in a typical SN IIn where the CSM is much closer and the interaction commences earlier post-explosion, indicating a different mass-loss history. We present infrared observations of SN 2014C 1–5 yr post-explosion, including uncommon 9.7 μm imaging with COMICS on the Subaru telescope. Spectroscopy shows the intermediate-width He I 1.083 μm emission from the interacting region up to the latest epoch 1639 days post-explosion. The last Spitzer/IRAC photometry at 1920 days confirms ongoing CSM interaction. The 1–10 μm spectral energy distributions (SEDs) can be explained by a dust model with a mixture of 62% carbonaceous and 38% silicate dust, pointing to a chemically inhomogeneous CSM. The inference of silicate dust is the first among interacting SNe. An SED model with purely carbonaceous CSM dust, while possible, requires more than 0.22 M ⊙ of dust, an order of magnitude larger than what has been observed in any SNe at this epoch. The light curve beyond 500 days is well fit by an interaction model with a wind-driven CSM and a mass-loss rate of ∼10−3 M ⊙ yr−1, which presents an additional CSM density component exterior to the constant-density shell reported previously in the literature. SN 2014C could originate in a binary system, similar to RY Scuti, which would explain the observed chemical and density profile inhomogeneity in the CSM.

A Multi-epoch X-Ray Study of the Spiral Galaxy NGC 7331

Abstract X-ray point sources in galaxies are dominated by X-ray binaries (XRBs) that are variables or transients, and whether their variability would alter the X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) is still in debate. Here we report on NGC 7331 as an example to test this with seven Chandra observations. Their detection limit is 7 × 1037 erg s−1 in the energy range 0.3–8.0 keV by assuming a power-law (PL) spectral model with a photon index of 1.7. We detected 55 X-ray sources. Thirteen of them are variables, of which three are transients, and some of the sources possess a bimodal feature in their luminosity–hardness ratio, which is often observed among XRBs. Nine more ultraluminous X-ray sources are found in comparison with previous studies and eight are likely to be low-mass or high-mass XRBs. Twenty-one optical counterpart candidates are found based on the Hubble Space Telescope images, but we cannot rule out the possibility of positional coincidence. The spectral analysis of SN 2014C shows a trend of increasing soft photons and decreasing hydrogen column densities as its outer shell expands. We fit the seven incompleteness-corrected XLFs to both a PL and a PL with an exponential cut-off (PLC) model using the Bayesian method, which is used for the first time in XLF fitting. The hierarchical PLC model can describe the XLF of NGC 7331 best with a slope of ∼0.5 and a luminosity cut-off around 8 × 1038 erg s−1. This study proves that multi-epoch observations decrease the deviation due to the variable luminous sources in XLFs.

The Signature of a Windy Radio Supernova Progenitor in a Binary System

Abstract Type II supernova progenitors are expected to emit copious amounts of mass in a dense stellar wind prior to the explosion. When the progenitor is a member of a binary, the orbital motion modulates the density of this wind. When the progenitor explodes, the high-velocity ejecta collides with the modulated wind, which in turn produces a modulated radio signal. In this Letter we derive general analytic relations between the parameters of the radio signal modulations and binary parameter in the limit of large member-mass ratio. We use these relations to infer the semimajor axis of SN 1979c and a lower bound for the mass of the companion. We further constrain the analytic estimates by numerical simulations using the Astrophysical Multipurpose Software Environment framework. In these calculations we simulate the progenitor binary system including the wind and the gravitational effect of a companion star. The simulation output is compared to the observed radio signal in supernova SN 1979C. We find that it must have been a binary with an orbital period of about 2000 yr. If the exploding star evolved from a ∼18 M ⊙ zero-age main sequence at solar metallicity, we derive a companion mass of 5–12 M ⊙ in an orbit with an eccentricity lower than about 0.8.

SN 2014C: VLBI images of a supernova interacting with a circumstellar shell

We report on VLBI measurements of supernova 2014C at several epochs between $t = 384$ and 1057 days after the explosion. SN 2014C was an unusual supernova that initially had Type Ib optical spectrum, but after $t = 130$ d it developed a Type IIn spectrum with prominent H$\alpha$ lines, suggesting the onset of strong circumstellar interaction. Our first VLBI observation was at $t = 384$ d, and we find that the outer radius of SN 2014C was $(6.40 \pm 0.26) \times 10^{16}$ cm (for a distance of 15.1 Mpc), implying an average expansion velocity of $19300 \pm 790$ \kms\ up to that time. At our last epoch, SN 2014C was moderately resolved and shows an approximately circular outline but with an enhancement of the brightness on the W side. The outer radius of the radio emission at $t = 1057$ d is $(14.9 \pm 0.6) \times 10^{16}$ cm. We find that the expansion between $t = 384$ and 1057 d is well described by a constant velocity expansion with $v = 13600 \pm 650$ \kms. SN 2014C had clearly been substantially decelerated by $t = 384$ d. Our measurements are compatible with a scenario where the expanding shock impacted upon a shell of dense circumstellar material during the first year, as suggested by the observations at other wavelengths, but had progressed through the dense shell by the time of the VLBI observations.

Searching for the Expelled Hydrogen Envelope in Type I Supernovae via Late-Time Hα Emission

Abstract We report the first results from our long-term observational survey aimed at discovering late-time interaction between the ejecta of hydrogen-poor Type I supernovae (SNe I) and the hydrogen-rich envelope expelled from the progenitor star several decades/centuries before explosion. The expelled envelope, moving with a velocity of ∼10–100 km s−1, is expected to be caught up by the fast-moving SN ejecta several years/decades after explosion, depending on the history of the mass-loss process acting in the progenitor star prior to explosion. The collision between the SN ejecta and the circumstellar envelope results in net emission in the Balmer lines, especially Hα. We look for signs of late-time Hα emission in older SNe Ia/Ibc/IIb with hydrogen-poor ejecta via narrowband imaging. Continuum-subtracted Hα emission has been detected for 13 point sources: 9 SN Ibc, 1 SN IIb, and 3 SN Ia events. Thirty-eight SN sites were observed on at least two epochs, from which three objects (SN 1985F, SN 2005kl, and SN 2012fh) showed significant temporal variation in the strength of their Hα emission in our Direct Imaging Auxiliary Functions Instrument (DIAFI) data. This suggests that the variable emission is probably not due to nearby H ii regions unassociated with the SN and hence is an important additional hint that ejecta–circumstellar medium interaction may take place in these systems. Moreover, we successfully detected the late-time Hα emission from the Type Ib SN 2014C, which was recently discovered as a strongly interacting SN in various (radio, infrared, optical, and X-ray) bands.

Ejection of the Massive Hydrogen-rich Envelope Timed with the Collapse of the Stripped SN 2014C.

We present multi-wavelength observations of SN 2014C during the first 500 days. These observations represent the first solid detection of a young extragalactic stripped-envelope SN out to high-energy X-rays ~40 keV. SN 2014C shows ordinary explosion parameters (Ek ~ 1.8 × 1051 erg and Mej ~ 1.7 M⊙). However, over an ~1 year timescale, SN 2014C evolved from an ordinary hydrogen-poor supernova into a strongly interacting, hydrogen-rich supernova, violating the traditional classification scheme of type-I versus type-II SNe. Signatures of the SN shock interaction with a dense medium are observed across the spectrum, from radio to hard X-rays, and revealed the presence of a massive shell of ~1 M⊙of hydrogen-rich material at ~6 × 1016 cm. The shell was ejected by the progenitor star in the decades to centuries before collapse. This result challenges current theories of massive star evolution, as it requires a physical mechanism responsible for the ejection of the deepest hydrogen layer of H-poor SN progenitors synchronized with the onset of stellar collapse. Theoretical investigations point at binary interactions and/or instabilities during the last nuclear burning stages as potential triggers of the highly time-dependent mass loss. We constrain these scenarios utilizing the sample of 183 SNe Ib/c with public radio observations. Our analysis identifies SN 2014C-like signatures in ~10% of SNe. This fraction is reasonably consistent with the expectation from the theory of recent envelope ejection due to binary evolution if the ejected material can survive in the close environment for 103-104 years. Alternatively, nuclear burning instabilities extending to core C-burning might play a critical role.

A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF MID-INFRARED EMISSION FROM CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE WITH SPIRITS

ABSTRACT We present a systematic study of mid-infrared emission from 141 nearby supernovae (SNe) observed with Spitzer/IRAC as part of the ongoing SPIRITS survey. We detect 8 Type Ia and 36 core-collapse SNe. All Type Ia/Ibc SNe become undetectable within three years of explosion, whereas 22 ± 11% of Type II SNe continue to be detected. Five Type II SNe are detected even two decades after discovery (SN 1974E, 1979C, 1980K, 1986J, and 1993J). Warm dust luminosity, temperature, and a lower limit on mass are obtained by fitting the two IRAC bands, assuming an optically thin dust shell. We derive warm dust masses between 10−6 and 10−2 M ⊙ and dust color temperatures between 200 and 1280 K. This observed warm dust could be pre-existing or newly created, but in either case represents a lower limit to the dust mass because cooler dust may be present. We present three case studies of extreme SNe. SN 2011ja (II-P) was over-luminous ([4.5] = −15.6 mag) at 900 days post explosion with increasing hot dust mass, suggesting either an episode of dust formation or intensifying circumstellar material (CSM) interactions heating up pre-existing dust. SN 2014bi (II-P) showed a factor of 10 decrease in dust mass over one month, suggesting either dust destruction or reduced dust heating. The IR luminosity of SN 2014C (Ib) stayed constant over 800 days, possibly due to strong CSM interaction with an H-rich shell, which is rare among stripped-envelope SNe. The observations suggest that this CSM shell originated from an LBV-like eruption roughly 100 years pre-explosion. The observed diversity demonstrates the power of mid-IR observations of a large sample of SNe.

Global embeddings and hydrodynamic properties of Kerr black hole

In the presence of a rotating Kerr black hole, we investigate hydrodynamics of the massive particles and massless photons to construct relations among number density, pressure and internal energy density of the massive particles and photons around the rotating Kerr black hole and to study an accretion onto the black hole. On equatorial plane of the Kerr black hole, we investigate the bound orbits of the massive particles and photons around the black hole to produce their radial, azimuthal and precession frequencies. With these frequencies, we study the black holes GRO J1655-40 and 4U 1543-47 to explicitly obtain the radial, azimuthal and precession frequencies of the massive particles in the flow of perfect fluid. We next consider the massive particles in the stable circular orbit of radius of 1.0 ly around the supernovas SN 1979C, SN 1987A and SN 2213-1745 in the Kerr curved spacetime, and around the potential supermassive Schwarzschild black holes M87, NGC 3115, NGC 4594, NGC 3377, NGC 4258, M31, M32 and Galatic center, to estimate their radial and azimuthal frequencies, which are shown to be the same results as those in no precession motion. The photon unstable orbit is also discussed in terms of the impact parameter of the photon trajectory. Finally, on the equatorial plane of the Kerr black hole, we construct the global flat embedding structures possessing (9 + 3) dimensionalities outside and inside the event horizon of the rotating Kerr black hole. Moreover, on the plane, we investigate the warp products of the Kerr spacetime.

METAMORPHOSIS OF SN 2014C: DELAYED INTERACTION BETWEEN A HYDROGEN POOR CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVA AND A NEARBY CIRCUMSTELLAR SHELL

We present optical observations of supernova SN 2014C, which underwent an unprecedented slow metamorphosis from H-poor type Ib to H-rich type IIn over the course of one year. The observed spectroscopic evolution is consistent with the supernova having exploded in a cavity before encountering a massive shell of the progenitor star's stripped hydrogen envelope. Possible origins for the circumstellar shell include a brief Wolf-Rayet fast wind phase that overtook a slower red supergiant wind, eruptive ejection, or confinement of circumstellar material by external influences of neighboring stars. An extended high velocity Halpha absorption feature seen in near-maximum light spectra implies that the progenitor star was not completely stripped of hydrogen at the time of core collapse. Archival pre-explosion Subaru Telescope Suprime-Cam and Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 images of the region obtained in 2009 show a coincident source that is most likely a compact massive star cluster in NGC 7331 that hosted the progenitor system. By comparing the emission properties of the source with stellar population models that incorporate interacting binary stars we estimate the age of the host cluster to be 30 - 300 Myr, and favor ages closer to 30 Myr in light of relatively strong Halpha emission. SN 2014C is the best-observed member of a class of core-collapse supernovae that fill the gap between events that interact strongly with dense, nearby environments immediately after explosion and those that never show signs of interaction. Better understanding of the frequency and nature of this intermediate population can contribute valuable information about the poorly understood final stages of stellar evolution.

Recent developments in supernova research with VLBI

AbstractVery long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations during the last 30 years have resolved many supernovae and provided detailed measurements of the expansion velocity and deceleration. Such measurements are useful for estimating the radial density profiles of both the ejecta and the circumstellar medium left over from the progenitor. VLBI measurements are also the most direct way of confirming the relativistic expansion velocities thought to occur in supernovae associated with gamma-ray bursts. Well-resolved images of a few supernovae have been obtained, and the interaction of the ejecta as it expands into the circumstellar medium could be monitored in detail. We discuss recent results, for SN 1979C, SN 1986J, and SN 1993J, and note that updated movies of the latter two of the supernovae from soon after the explosion to the present are available from the first author's personal website.

Evidence for a possible black hole remnant in the Type IIL Supernova 1979C

We present an analysis of archival X-ray observations of the Type IIL supernova SN 1979C. We find that its X-ray luminosity is remarkably constant at (6.5 ± 0.1) × 10 38 erg s −1 over a period of 12 years between 1995 and 2007. The high and steady luminosity is considered as possible evidence for a stellar-mass (∼5–10 M ⊙) black hole accreting material from either a supernova fallback disk or from a binary companion, or possibly from emission from a central pulsar wind nebula. We find that the bright and steady X-ray light curve is not consistent with either a model for a supernova powered by magnetic braking of a rapidly rotating magnetar, or a model where the blast wave is expanding into a dense circumstellar wind.

1.6 GHz VLBI observations of SN 1979C: almost-free expansion

We report on 1.6 GHz Very-Long-Baseline-Interferometry (VLBI) observations of supernova SN 1979C made on 18 November 2002. We derive a model-dependent supernova size. We also present a reanalysis of VLBI observations made by us on June 1999 and by other authors on February 2005. We conclude that, contrary to our earlier claim of strong deceleration in the expansion, SN 1979C has been undergoing almost-free expansion ($m = 0.91\pm0.09$; $R \propto t^m$) for over 25 years.

SN 2008S: an electron-capture SN from a super-AGB progenitor?

We present comprehensive photometric and spectroscopic observations of the faint transient SN 2008S discovered in NGC 6946. SN 2008S exhibited slow photometric evolution and almost no spectral variability during the first nine months, implying a high density CS medium. The light curve is similar in shape to that of SN 1998S and SN 1979C, although significantly fainter at maximum light. Our quasi-bolometric lightcurve extends to 300 days and shows a tail phase decay rate consistent with that of ^{56}Co. We propose that this is evidence for an explosion and formation of ^{56}Ni (0.0015 +/- 0.0004 M_Sun). The large MIR flux detected shortly after explosion can be explained by a light echo from pre-exisiting dust. The late NIR flux excess is plausibly due to a combination of warm newly-formed ejecta dust together with shock-heated dust in the CS environment. We reassess the progenitor object detected previously in Spitzer archive images, supplementing this discussion with a model of the MIR spectral energy distribution. This supports the idea of a dusty, optically thick shell around SN 2008S with an inner radius of nearly 90AU and outer radius of 450AU, and an inferred heating source of 3000 K and luminosity of L ~ 10^{4.6} L_Sun. The combination of our monitoring data and the evidence from the progenitor analysis leads us to support the scenario of a weak electron capture supernova explosion in a super-AGB progenitor star (of initial mass 6-8 M_sun) embedded within a thick CS gaseous envelope. We suggest that all of main properties of the electron capture SN phenomenon are observed in SN 2008S and future observations may allow a definitive answer.

THE EVOLUTION OF LATE-TIME OPTICAL EMISSION FROM SN 1979C

Optical spectra of the bright Type II-L supernova SN 1979C obtained in April 2008 with the 6.5 m Multiple Mirror Telescope are compared with archival late-time spectra to follow the evolution of its optical emission over the age range of 11–29 years. We estimate an Hα flux decrease of around 35% from 1993 to 2008 but noticeable increases in the strength of blueshifted emission of forbidden oxygen lines. While the maximum expansion of the broad ∼6700 km s−1 Hα emission appears largely unchanged from 1993, we find a significant narrowing of the double-peaked emission profiles in the [O i] λλ6300, 6364 and [O ii] λλ7319, 7330 lines. A comparison of late-time optical spectra of a few other Type II SNe which, like SN 1979C, exhibit bright late-time X-ray, optical, and radio emissions, suggests that blueshifted double-peaked oxygen emission profiles may be a common phenomenon. Finally, detection of a faint, broad emission bump centered around 5800 Å suggests the presence of WC-type Wolf–Rayet stars in the SN's host star cluster.

Supernova 1996cr: SN 1987A’s Wild Cousin?

We report on new VLT optical spectroscopic and multiwavelength archival observations of SN 1996cr, a previously identified ultraluminous X-ray source known as Circinus galaxy X-2. Our optical spectrum confirms SN 1996cr as a bona fide Type IIn supernova, while archival imaging from the Anglo-Australian Telescope archive isolates the explosion date to between 1995 February 28 and 1996 March 16. SN 1996cr is one of the closest SNe (≈3.8 Mpc) in the last several decades, and in terms of flux ranks among the brightest radio and X-ray SNe ever detected. The wealth of optical, X-ray, and radio observations that exist for this source provide relatively detailed constraints on its postexplosion expansion and progenitor history, including a preliminary angular size constraint from VLBI. Archival X-ray and radio data imply that the progenitor of SN 1996cr evacuated a large cavity just prior to exploding: the blast wave likely spent ~1-2 yr in relatively uninhibited expansion before eventually striking the dense circumstellar material which surrounds SN 1996cr. The X-ray and radio emission, which trace the progenitor mass-loss rate, have respectively risen by a factor of ≳2 and remained roughly constant over the past 7 years. This behavior is reminiscent of the late rise of SN 1987A, but 1000 times more luminous and much more rapid to onset. SN 1996cr may likewise provide us with a younger example of SN 1978K and SN 1979C, both of which exhibit flat X-ray evolution at late times. Complex oxygen line emission hints at a possible concentric shell or ringlike structure. The discovery of SN 1996cr suggests that a substantial fraction of the closest SNe observed in the last several decades have occurred in wind-blown bubbles, and argues for the phenomena being widespread.

Shell Revealed in SN 1979C

VLBI observations at 5 GHz have revealed that supernova 1979C, in the galaxy M100 in the Virgo cluster, has shell structure. The shell is approximately circular with the 50% contour deviating from a circle by an rms of no more than 8% of the radius. The brightness distribution along the ridge may vary. The position of the center of the shell is at R.A.=12h 22m 58.66758s and decl.=15^o 47' 51.9695 (J2000), with a standard error of 0.8 mas in each of the coordinates. No isolated central component is visible above a flux density limit of ~0.15 mJy which corresponds to an upper limit of ~15 times the corresponding spectral luminosity of the Crab Nebula. The radio lightcurve is clearly falling again and the radio spectrum is now flatter than at earlier times. SN 1979C is only the fourth, and oldest (optically identified) supernova of which a detailed image could be obtained.