| Description: | Supernova 1987A is the nearest supernova seen in over 400 years and the only one with an identified progenitor star. Besides the debris, a triple ring system is visible. The geometry of the inner ring has been determined and the interaction of the external debris with the inner ring has been monitored in the radio, IR, visible and X-rays. A couple of years ago, Herschel observations provided evidence of massive dust formation in the inner debris. Very recently, the new sub-millimeter array ALMA has imaged the supernova in 4 frequency bands filling the gap between radio and IR. The images have permitted to reliably dissect the SED in its components. Dust and synchrotron emissions are now well characterized. Unexpectedly, strong emission by rotational transitions of CO and SiO in the inner debris has been detected and characterized. This way, SN1987A offers a splendid occasion to study dust and molecule formation in supernova explosions. Further study of the molecular emission at higher transitions and with higher and higher angular resolution provided by the yet to be completed ALMA yields high promise for a tomography of the inner debris. All available recent results will be presented and compared to state-of-the-art VLBI studies of the expansion of SN1993J in M81. |
