Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy Commons^™

Lateral Shock Of The R Aquarii Jet, J. M. Hollis, J. A. Pedelty, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The R Aqr jet was observed with the VLA B-configuration at two epochs separated by ~13.2 yr. Comparison of the resulting 6 cm continuum images show that the radio jet has undergone a lateral counterclockwise rotation of ~6-12 on the plane of the sky. The model of jet parcels on independent trajectories is difficult to reconcile with these observations and leads us to consider a path-oriented jet (i.e., younger parcels follow the same path as older parcels). Comparison of the most recent radio image with a nearly contemporaneous HST /FOC ultraviolet image at ~2330 A suggests that the ultraviolet emission …