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How unique was SN 1987A?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 April 2016
Abstract
Supernovae of type II (SN II) are found to exhibit a correlation (r = 0.45 ± 0.15) between M(max) and parent galaxy luminosity. This correlation might be understood by assuming that the metal-rich red supergiant progenitors of SN II in luminous galaxies have more extended photospheres than do those of the more metal-deficient evolved progenitors of SN II on low-luminosity galaxies. For h = 0.5 it is found that SN 1987A was ∼1.5 mag fainter at maximum in blue light than any other well-observed SN II. For h = 1.0 SN 1948B, SN 1973R, SN 1972Q and SN 1987A exhibit comparable MB(max). It would be important to undertake systematic searches for sub-luminous SN II in dwarf galaxies and in the metal-poor extreme outer regions of giant- and supergiant spirals.
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- Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 1988
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