Abstract
We have discovered a new hard X-ray source near supernova 1987 A, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, from the X-ray astronomy satellite Ginga. The present error box of 0.2° × 0.3° includes the supernova. The energy spectrum is very hard above 10 keV and unusual for any of the known classes of X-ray source. The flux in the range 10–30 keV as of 2–3 September is ˜5×10–11ergcm–2 s–1. The source intensity increased steadily throughout July, August and early September, but an observation in late September revealed no further increase. The positional agreement, a steady brightening and an unusual hard spectrum support the identification of the source as SN1987A.
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References
1. Makino, F. et al Astrophys. Lett. 25, 223 (1987). 2. Shelton, I (reported by Kunkel, W. & Madore, B.) IAU Circ. No. 4316 (1987). 3. Jones, A. & Nelson (reported by Bateson, F. M.) IAU Circ. No. 4316 (1987). 4. Makino, F. IAU Circ. No. 4447 (1987). 5. Long, K. S, Helfand, D. J. & Grabelsky, D. A. Astrophys. J. 248, 925 (1981). 6. Sunyaev, R. et al. Nature 330, 227-229 (1987).
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Dotani, T., Hayashida, K., Inoue, H. et al. Discovery of an unusual hard X-ray source in the region of supernova 1987A. Nature 330, 230–231 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/330230a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/330230a0
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