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J. A. Morse (University of Colorado), R. P. Kirshner (Harvard University), W. P. Blair (Johns Hopkins University), P. F. Winkler (Middlebury College), J. P. Hughes (Rutgers University)
We present HST WFPC2 emission-line and continuum images of the Crab-like supernova remnant SNR0540-69.3 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Although SNR0540 is faint and the data have relatively low signal-to-noise ratios, the ionization structure that can be discerned and the spatial relationship that the emitting filaments have to the synchrotron nebulosity strengthen its similarity to the Crab Nebula. There is evidence for a diffuse [OIII] skin of emission that is spatially distinct in the WFPC2 images and kinematically distinguished from the more slowly expanding ejecta shell in a supporting ground-based longslit optical spectrum. We also compare the optical emission observed in the WFPC2 images to the structures seen in recent Chandra data. The surrounding environment contains numerous compact filaments that suggest interaction with the main blast wave shell seen in the X-ray images.