Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 April 2016
The IUE observations of SN 1987A are presented and the most important results are briefly summarised. The photometric observations of SN 1987A are discussed in some detail in the context of the supernova energetics. Adding the information from spectroscopy and neutrino observations, it is concluded that SN 1987A is a ‘normal’ Type II explosion (i.e. core collapse of a massive star) with an unusually compact initial configuration, just as expected for the progenitor Sk −69°202.