Radio Detection of SN 1986E in NGC 4302

Radio observations of SN 1986E show a clear detection of emission at 6 cm wavelength about 8 months after optical discovery. Combined with a number of new upper limits and a study of the possible models, these observations suggest that SN 1986E was probably a fairly normal Type IIL supernova, somewhat similar to SN 1980K, with radio emission at roughly the expected levels. This detection agrees with the general correlation between radio detection and late-time optical emission.