The Hidden Realm of Deeply Embedded Supernovae Remnants

During its relatively short lifetime, a supernova
dramatically alters the birth cloud in which it arises,
compressing, heating, ionizing and metal
enriching the interstellar medium.  In this regard, the most
important class of supernovae (SNe) are those of the 
core collapse unique to the most massive stars.  And yet these SNe
are the least understood because they are hidden by the formidable
screen of stars, dust and gas that comprise the Plane of
the Milky Way.  Infrared and radio observations have
the ability to penetrate this obscuring mask to study and
ultimately unlock the secrets within the dark molecular clouds.
I will present new results of radio/infrared observations
of deeply embedded SNe that we use to study
how the interaction between SNe and their birth clouds evolve
from the earliest stages to the relatively mature
phase in which the remnant settles back into the ISM.
The ground observations include near-infrared spectral
imaging using the Hale 200" telescope and the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian
Telescope.  The mid-infrared data are acquired with the Spitzer
Space Telescope. The presentation will include some historical perspective
on studies of SNe within the Milky Way and beyond to nearby
galaxies.