  Observations with the Swift UVOT have unambiguously uncovered for the first
time a long-lived, UV "plateau" in a Type II-P supernova (SN).
  Although this flattening in slope is hinted at in a few other SNe, due to its
proximity and minimal line-of-sight extinction, SN 2012aw has afforded the
first opportunity to clearly observe this UV plateau. The observations of SN
2012aw revealed all Swift UV and u-band lightcurves initially declined rapidly,
but 27 days after explosion the light curves flattened. Some possible sources
of the UV plateau are: the same thermal process that cause the optical plateau,
heating from radioactive decay, or a combination of both processes.
