SUPERNOVA 1993J is one of the closest supernovae discovered this centu
ry, allowing observations with very high linear resolution. Radio emis
sion from the supernova became visible within days of the first optica
l peak, and has remained strong, making this an ideal source for very-
long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) investigations1-7. Here we report
the results of a series of VLBI observations, made from one to three m
onths after the supernova explosion. We find that the supernova is cir
cularly symmetric, which is somewhat surprising in view of suggestions
that the progenitor was a member of a binary system8,9, and the asymm
etry implied by optical observations10. The supernova shows no sign of
deceleration, and the expansion velocities that we estimate from the
VLBI measurements are consistent with the maximum optical line velocit
ies11, suggesting that the radio emission indeed arises from the shock
front, where the ejecta are hitting the gas that surrounded the proge
nitor star. We combine the angular expansion rate determined by the VL
BI data with the optically derived expansion speed to estimate a dista
nce to M81 of 4.0 +/- 0.6 Mpc, consistent with the value obtained from
measurements of Cepheid variables in M81, 3.63 +/- 0.34 Mpc (ref. 12)
.