SNR 1987A: highest resolution image ever achieved using the ATCA

ATNF researchers have used the Australia Telescope Compact Array near Narrabri to image the radio remnant of SN 1987A at 12 mm wavelength (18.5 GHz) using all six antennas of the Compact Array to give a maximum baseline of 6km. This image is the highest resolution image ever obtained with the Compact Array. Astronomers will compare this image with images of the supernova remnant obtained at optical wavelengths with the Hubble Space Telescope and X-ray wavelengths with the Chandra space X-ray observatory.

This image was made possible by the upgrading of the ATCA under the Major National Research Facilities Program to receive signals at millimetre wavelengths.

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