THE KINEMATICS OF THE HONEYCOMB NEBULA IN THE VICINITY OF SN-1987A

Spatially resolved observations of Halpha line profiles have been made with the Manchester echelle spectrometer, combined with the Anglo-Australian Telescope, over the complex of 20 interlocking shells located in the vicinity of SN 1987A and known as the Honeycomb nebula. Complex motions are revealed. Individual almost-equal-to 7 arcsec diameter shells are shown to be expanding towards the observer at 100-200 km s-1 with respect to the systemic radial velocity in this region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Velocity 'spikes' coincident with the filamentary edges of individual 'shells' and with a similar range of radial velocities are also revealed in the position-velocity arrays of the Halpha profiles. It is proposed that all of the kinematical features of the Honeycomb nebula can be generated as one or more young supernova remnants collide with the dense inside boundary of a slower moving (almost-equal-to 100 pc diameter) giant shell.