Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-28-2010
Publication Title
The Astronomical Journal
Department
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Deep Hα images of portions of a faint 3° × 4° Hα shell centered at l = 1596, b = 73 seen on the Virginia Tech Spectral Line Survey images revealed the presence of several thin emission filaments along its eastern limb. Low-dispersion optical spectra of two of these filaments covering the wavelength range of 4500-7500 Å show narrow Hα line emissions with velocities around –170 ± 30 km s–1. Both the morphology and spectra of these filaments are consistent with a Balmer-dominated shock interpretation and we propose that these optical filaments indicate that the large Hα emission shell is a previously unrecognized supernova remnant (SNR). ROSAT All Sky Survey images indicate the possible presence of extremely faint, diffuse emission from the shell's central region. The shell's location more than 7° off the Galactic plane in a region of relatively low interstellar density may account for the lack of any reported associated non-thermal radio emissions. The rare discovery of a Galactic SNR at optical wavelengths suggests that additional high-latitude SNRs may have escaped radio and X-ray detection
DOI
10.1088/0004-6256/140/5/1163
Original Citation
Robert A. Fesen and Dan Milisavljevic 2010 AJ 140 1163
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Fesen, Robert A. and Milisavljevic, Dan, "Optical Discovery of an Apparent Galactic Supernova Remnant g159.6+7.3" (2010). Dartmouth Scholarship. 2062.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/2062
