Abstract
MEASUREMENTS of annual parallax give distances for stellar objects which are largely model-independent. Such measurements provide a basis for the calibration of other methods for estimating distances which are applicable to more distant objects. In the case of pulsars, parallax measurements allow estimation of the local interstellar electron density and hence calibration of the distance scale based on pulse dispersion. Here we use data from the Parkes–Tidbinbilla interferometer to determine the parallax and proper motion of PSR1451–68, obtaining a value of 2.2±0.3 milli-arcseconds for the parallax and 41.4±0.9 milliarcseconds per year for the proper motion. When combined with the dispersion measure, the parallax yields a value of 0.019±0.003 cm−3 for the mean density of free electrons along the line of sight to this pulsar. Together with other measurements, this result indicates that the interstellar medium within 500 pc of the Sun is typical of that at greater distances.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Norris, R. P., Kesteven, M. J., Wellington, K. J, & Batty, M. J. Astrophys. J.,Suppl. 67, 85–91 (1988).
Bailes, M., Manchester, R. N., Kesteven, M. J., Norris, R. P. & Reynolds, J. E. Astrophys. J. 343, L53–L55 (1989).
Lyne, A. G., Anderson, B. & Salter, M. J. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 201, 503–520 (1982).
Kulkarni, S. R. Astrophys. J. 306, L85–L89 (1986).
van den Heuvel, E. P. J. J. Astr. Astrophys. 5, 209–233 (1984).
Gwinn, C. R., Taylor, J. H., Weisberg, J. M. & Rawley, L. A. Astr. J. 91, 338–342 (1986).
Salter, M. J., Lyne, A. G. & Anderson, B. Nature 280, 477–478 (1979).
Backer, D. C. & Sramek, R. A. Astrophys. J. 260, 512–519 (1982).
Rawley, L. A., Taylor, J. H. & Davis, M. M. Astrophys. J. 326, 947–953 (1988).
Lyne, A. G., Manchester, R. N. & Taylor, J. H. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 213, 613–639 (1985).
Cox, D. P. & Reynolds, R. J. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 25, 303–344 (1987).
Marshall, F. J. & Clark, G. W. Astrophys. J. 217, L87–L91 (1977).
Sanders, W. T., Krausher, W. L., Nousek, J. A. & Fried, P. M. Astrophys. J. 287, 633–652 (1984).
Reynolds, R. J. Astrophys. J. 282, 191–196 (1984).
Kulkarni, S. & Heiles, C. in Interstellar Processes (eds Hollenbach, D. J. & Thronson, H. A.) 87–122 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bailes, M., Manchester, R., Kesteven, M. et al. The parallax and proper motion of PSRI451–68. Nature 343, 240–241 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/343240a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/343240a0
This article is cited by
-
Discovery of a very bright, nearby binary millisecond pulsar
Nature (1993)
-
Free electron density in H I regions as an indicator of ionizing dark matter
Nature (1990)
-
Spatial velocities of pulsars
Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy (1990)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.