Issue |
Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser.
Volume 138, Number 2, August 1999
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 253 - 266 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/aas:1999274 | |
Published online | 15 August 1999 |
A search for candidate light echoes: Photometry of supernova environments*
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, U.S.A. e-mail: boffi@stsci.edu, sparks@stsci.edu, macchetto@stsci.edu
Send offprint request to: F.R. Boffi
Received:
19
April
1999
Accepted:
7
June
1999
Supernova (SN) light echoes could be a powerful tool for determining
distances to galaxies geometrically, [Sparks (1994)]. In this paper we
present CCD photometry of the environments of 64 historical supernovae,
the first results of a program designed to search for light echoes from
these SNe.
We commonly find patches of optical emission at, or close to, the sites
of the supernovae. The color distribution of these patches is broad,
and generally consistent with stellar population colors, possibly with
some reddening. However there are in addition patches with both
unusually red and unusually blue colors. We expect light echoes to be
blue, and while none of the objects are quite as blue in as the
known light echo of SN 1991T, there are features that are unusually blue
and we identify these as candidate light echoes for follow-on observations.
Key words: scattering / supernovae: general / distance scale
© European Southern Observatory (ESO), 1999