Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 April 2016
Some special issues to which IUE observations have provided crucial insight are presented. The arguments leading to the definitive identification of Sk−69°202 as the progenitor of the LMC supernova are reviewed, and a preliminary determination of the reddening toward SN 1987A, based on the IUE spectra of stars 2 and 3, is discussed. Recent observations at the predicted position of the SN ultraviolet light echo are reported, and evidence, albeit circumstantial, is provided that a UV echo has been detected. Some consequences of this result are explored. The relevance of this observation lies in the fact that a UV echo, if really detected, would give direct information of the spectrum of the SN at the time of the shock breakout.