First Detection of a Pulsar Bow Shock Nebula in Far-UV: PSR J0437-4715

Understand

Pulsars traveling at supersonic speeds are often accompanied by cometary bow shocks seen in Halpha.

• We report on the first detection of a pulsar bow shock in the far-ultraviolet (FUV).
• We detected it in FUV images of the nearest millisecond pulsar J0437-4715 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope.
• The images reveal a bow-like structure positionally coincident with part of the previously detected Halpha bow shock, with an apex at 10" ahead of the moving pulsar.