Search Publications
The Progenitor of Supernova 1993J Revisited
Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Kirshner, Robert P. +4 more
From Hubble Space Telescope images with 0.05" resolution, we identify four stars brighter than V=25 mag within 2.5" of SN 1993J in M81, which contaminated previous ground-based brightness estimates for the supernova progenitor. Correcting for the contamination, we find that the energy distribution of the progenitor is consistent with that of an ea…
A Hubble Space Telescope Snapshot Survey of Nearby Supernovae
Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Modjaz, Maryam +4 more
We present photometry of 13 recent supernovae (SNe) recovered in a Hubble Space Telescope Snapshot program and tie the measurements to earlier ground-based observations in order to study the late-time evolution of the SNe. Many of the ground-based measurements are previously unpublished and were made primarily with a robotic telescope, the Katzman…
Possible Recovery of SN 1961V in Hubble Space Telescope Archival Images
Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Li, Weidong
SN 1961V in NGC 1058 was originally classified by Fritz Zwicky as a ``Type V'' supernova. However, it has been argued that SN 1961V was not a genuine supernova, but instead the superoutburst of an η Carinae-like luminous blue variable star. In particular, Filippenko et al. used pre-refurbishment Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Ca…
An Efficient Strategy to Select Targets for Gasdynamical Measurements of Black Hole Masses Using the Hubble Space Telescope
Filippenko, Alexei V.; Ho, Luis C.; Shields, Joseph C. +4 more
Gasdynamical studies using the Hubble Space Telescope are an integral component for future progress in the search for massive black holes in galactic nuclei. Here we present an extensive set of gas rotation curves obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph for the central regions of 23 disk galaxies. We find that the bulges of randomly…
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Poststarburst Quasar UN J1025-0040: Evidence for Recent Star Formation
Filippenko, Alexei V.; Canalizo, Gabriela; Shanks, Tom +5 more
We present new Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera images of the poststarburst quasar UN J1025-0040, which contains both an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and a 400 Myr old nuclear starburst of similar bolometric luminosity (~1011.6 Lsolar). The F450W and F814W images resolve the AGN from the starburst and…
Characterizing the Adaptive Optics Off-Axis Point-Spread Function. I. A Semiempirical Method for Use in Natural Guide Star Observations
Lloyd, J. P.; Graham, James R.; Faber, S. M. +11 more
Even though the technology of adaptive optics (AO) is rapidly maturing, calibration of the resulting images remains a major challenge. The AO point-spread function (PSF) changes quickly in both time and position on the sky. In a typical observation, the star used for guiding will be separated from the scientific target by 10"-30". This is sufficie…