Infrared Echoes near the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A

Abstract

Two images of Cassiopeia A obtained at 24 micrometer with the Spitzer Space Telescope over a one year time interval show moving structures outside the shell of the supernova remnant to a distance of more than 20 arcmin. Individual features exhibit apparent motions of 10 to 20 arcsec per year, independently confirmed by near-infrared observations. The observed tangential velocities are at roughly the speed of light. It is likely that the moving structures are infrared echoes, in which interstellar dust is heated by the explosion and by flares from the compact object near the center of the remnant.

arXiv commentTo be published in Science on June 10, 2005. 11 pages, 4 figures. Additional information available at http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2005-14/index.shtml

References in corpus (10)

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Cited by in corpus (47)

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• The Expansion Asymmetry and Age of the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant
• Tycho Brahe's 1572 supernova as a standard type Ia explosion revealed from its light echo spectrum
• Dust and the type II-plateau supernova 2004et
• The Youngest Galactic Supernova Remnant: G1.9+0.3
• Supernova remnant energetics and magnetars: no evidence in favour of millisecond proto-neutron stars
• Constraints on the Progenitor of Cassiopeia A
• Scattered-Light Echoes from the Historical Galactic Supernovae Cassiopeia A and Tycho (SN 1572)
• First search for gravitational waves from the youngest known neutron star
• Direct Confirmation of the Asymmetry of the Cas A Supernova with Light Echoes
• The Unique Type Ib Supernova 2005bf: A WN Star Explosion Model for Peculiar Light Curves and Spectra
• Central Compact Objects in Supernova Remnants
• Discovery of a 112 ms X-ray Pulsar in Puppis A: Further Evidence of Neutron Stars Weakly Magnetized at Birth
• Dust and the type II-Plateau supernova 2004dj
• Nuclear-Astrophysics Lessons from INTEGRAL
• The Transitional Stripped-Envelope SN 2008ax: Spectral Evolution and Evidence for Large Asphericity
• A dedicated Chandra ACIS observation of the central compact object in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant
• Revisiting INTEGRAL/SPI observations of 44Ti from Cassiopeia A
• A JWST Survey of the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
• Ejecta Knot Flickering, Mass Ablation, and Fragmentation in Cassiopeia A
• X-ray Timing of PSR J1852+0040 in Kesteven 79: Evidence of Neutron Stars Weakly Magnetized at Birth
• Near-Infrared and Optical Limits for the Central X-ray Point Source in the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant
• Infrared Echoes Reveal the Shock Breakout of the Cas A Supernova
• Reflections on Reflexions: II. Effects of Light Echoes on the luminosity and spectra of Type Ia Supernovae
• A theory of Cosmic Rays
• First Fruits of the Spitzer Space Telescope: Galactic and Solar System Studies
• The Shape of Cas A
• Supernova remnants with magnetars: clues to magnetar formation
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• Quantitative Age Estimation of Supernova Remnants and Associated Pulsars
• Light Echoes of Transients and Variables in the Local Universe
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• Optical and Infrared Observations of the X-ray source 1WGA J1713.4$-$3949 in the G347.3-0.5 SNR
• On the Interpretation of Supernova Light Echo Profiles and Spectra
• Evidence for a binary origin of a central compact object
• Spitzer Observations of V838 Monocerotis: Detection of a Rare Infrared Light Echo
• The Mid-Infrared Light Curve of Nearby Core-Collapse Supernova SN2011dh (PTF11eon)
• The Magnetic Field in Galaxies, Galaxy Clusters, and the InterGalactic Space
• Central compact objects in Kes 79 and RCW 103 as "hidden" magnetars with crustal activity
• Observation of light echoes around very young stars
• A Search for Infrared Emission from Core-Collapse Supernovae at the Transitional Phase
• Probing Interstellar Dust with Infrared Echoes from the Cas A Supernova
• Searching for continuous gravitational waves from slowly spinning neutron stars with DECIGO, Big Bang Observer, Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer
• JWST/MIRI detects the dusty SN1993J about 30 years after explosion
• Progress on multi-waveband observations of supernova remnants