Recent observations of the galactic supernova remnants the Crab Nebula, SN 1006, Cas A, and the Cygnus Loop are reviewed. New studies of the Crab Nebula suggest its progenitor may have had appreciable mass loss in the form of a circumstellar disk resulting in both a bipolar expansion and formation of the synchrotron ‘bays’. Unusually high proper motion knots near to and possibly directed away from the pulsar also have been reported. In the Cas A remnant, a NE jet of ejecta appears to be a plume of mantle material with expansion velocities up to 12000 km s−1 or nearly twice that seen in the main ejecta shell. HST observations of the sdOB star located behind SN 1006 indicate symmetrically expanding Fe II ejecta out to 8100 km s−1. Lastly, deep images of the Cygnus Loop reveal emission structures similar to those seen in 2D & 3D shocked cloud simulations.

Optical research on the properties of galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) continues to yield important new results. Though only a small fraction of the radio catalogued 170+ galactic SNRs are optically detectable, optical measurements permit one to investigate such SNR properties as chemical abundances relative to hydrogen, expansion velocities, gas densities and temperatures, and ejecta filament morphologies and distribution. With the advent of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) in 1978 and now the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), UV observations on the brighter and less reddened optical SNRs are possible, substantially adding to our knowledge.