Letter to the Editor

An Hα nebula possibly associated with the central source in the G 266.2-1.2 supernova remnant

Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica – Sezione di Milano “G. Occhialini” – CNR, via Bassini 15, 20133 Milano, Italy

Corresponding author: A. Pellizzoni, alberto@mi.iasf.cnr.it

Received: 17 July 2002
Accepted: 20 August 2002

Abstract

We report the discovery of a small Hα nebula positionally coincident with the candidate neutron star AX J0851.9-4617.4  located at the center of the supernova remnant G 266.2-1.2. The nebula has a roughly circular shape with a diameter of ~6'' and a flux of ~10^-2 photons cm^-2 s^-1 in the Hα line. Considering the uncertainties in the distance and energy output from the putative neutron star, we find that such a flux can be explained either in a bow-shock model or assuming that the nebular emission is due to photo-ionization and heating of the ambient gas.