X-ray flare in 3U 0833-45 the Vela pulsar
Abstract
DURING an extended observation with the Ariel V Sky Survey Instrument (SSI) a flare has been detected from the X-ray source 3U 0833-45, generally associated with the Vela pulsar. Details of the SSI, which covers the energy range 2.4-18 keV, are given elsewhere1. The flare occurred during the first part of 24 July 1976, reaching a peak intensity at ~0300UT of 11.9+/-1.7 counts s-1, a factor of three above its normal (Ariel V) level, and lasting ~0.5 d. Figure 1 shows the light curve of the event, and it is interesting to note a possible precursor to the main flare, occurring approximately 2 d earlier. No similar event or measurable variability has been seen in observations of 3U 0833-45 with the SSI over the previous 20 months. A typical run of data from August 1975 with 3U 0833-45 in its normal (quiescent) state is shown in Fig. 2. These lower flux values have been summed in 0.7 d bins for clarity in the figure.
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- January 1977
- DOI:
- 10.1038/265121a0
- Bibcode:
- 1977Natur.265..121S
- Keywords:
-
- Flares;
- Pulsars;
- Supernova Remnants;
- X Ray Sources;
- Ariel 5 Satellite;
- Energy Dissipation;
- Light Curve;
- Magnetospheric Instability;
- Pulsar Magnetospheres;
- Sky Surveys (Astronomy);
- Astrophysics