SN1987A: The youngest supernova remnant

Supernova 1987A became a supernova remnant about 10 years after outburst, when the luminosity resulting from the impact of its debris with its circumstellar matter dominated the luminosity due to internal radioactivity. Today, with the Hubble Space Telescope, we clearly see optical and ultraviolet emission from the reverse shock and from several “hot spots,” where the blast wave is beginning to strike the inner circumstellar ring. With the Chandra Observatory, we also see X-ray emission from the hot shocked gas between the reverse shock and the blast wave. Here I review the observations of this remarkable event and forecast what we can expect to see during the coming decade.