Multiple Epoch Analysis of the Guitar Nebula and B2224+65 at Optical, X-Ray, and Radio Wavelengths
Abstract
The Guitar Nebula is created by the interaction of the pulsar B2224+65 with the interstellar medium. We present multi-epoch observations of the nebula with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO), along with preliminary astrometric observations of B2224+65 with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). The Guitar Nebula was observed in H-alpha by HST with WFPC2 (1994, 2001) and ACS (2006). The tip of the nebula head has expanded along the proper motion vector of the pulsar. Meanwhile, the sides and back of the head appear to be confined, possibly due to a density gradient in the ISM. Observations with CXO ACIS reveal an X-ray jet whose tip is coincident with the location of the pulsar, but at an angle of ~118° from the proper motion vector with a length of ~2 arcmin. Using data from 2000 and 2006, we imaged the jet at 0.3--10 keV. We did not find significant differences in the jet location or morphology between the two epochs, but our results are limited by the observation signal-to-noise ratio. PSR B2224+65 is one of the targets of PSRπ, an ongoing VLBA campaign to measure pulsar proper motions and parallaxes. When completed in 2013, PSRπ will provide both a distance and transverse velocity for PSR B2224+65 with very high precision. Based on a preliminary analysis of 5 epochs already observed, we confirm that the proper motion of the nebula tip measured with HST matches the pulsar proper motion measured with the VLBA. This project was conducted at Cornell University’s Astronomy REU program, with funding provided by the NSF.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #221
- Pub Date:
- January 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AAS...22115404G