SNRGREEN - Green Catalog of Galactic SNRs (June 2017 Version)

Overview

This catalog of known Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) is an updated version of the catalogs of Galactic SNRs presented in detail in Green (1984, 1988), in summary form in Green (1991, 1996, 2004, 2009), and on the Web (versions of 1995-July, 1996-August, 1998-September, 2000-August, 2001-December, 2004-January, 2006-April, 2009-March, and 2014-May). [Note that the version published in Green (1996) was produced in 1993.]

This June 2017 version of the catalog contains 295 SNRs, and is based on results published in the literature up to the end of 2016. The basic summary data included in this catalog for each SNR are its designation, position, angular size (in arcminutes), type, flux density at 1 GHz, spectral index, and any other names by which it is known. Notes on these parameters, on possible remnants not included, and on questionable SNRs that are listed in this catalog, are given in the full version of the catalog on the Web at http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/surveys/snrs/snrs.info.html

It should be noted that there are serious selection effects which apply to the identification of Galactic SNRs (e.g., Green 1991, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2014), so that care should be taken if these data are used in any statistical studies.

Catalog Bibcode

2017yCat.7278....0G

References

A Catalogue of Galactic Supernova Remnants, 2017 June version.
     Green D.A.
  <Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, United Kingdom (2017)>
  =2017yCat.7278....0G

Previous versions:

  Green, D.A., 1984, MNRAS, 209, 449        =1984MNRAS.209..449G

  Green, D.A., 1988, Ap&SS, 148, 3          =1988Ap&SS.148....3G

  Green, D.A., 1991, PASP, 103, 209         =1991PASP..103..209G

  Green, D.A., 1996, "Supernovae and Supernova Remnants",
    Proceedings of IAU Colloquium 145, eds. McCray R. & Wang Z.,
    (Cambridge University Press), 419       =1996ssr..conf..419G

  Green, D.A., 2004, BASI, 32, 335          =2004BASI...32..335G

  Green, D.A., 2005, MmSAI, 76, 534         =2005MmSAI..76..534G

  Green, D.A., 2009, BASI, 37, 45           =2009BASI...37...45G

  Green, D.A., 2014, BASI, 42, 47           =2014BASI...42...47G

Provenance

This version of the Green Catalog of Galactic Supernova Remnants was ingested at the HEASARC in July 2017. It is based on the Catalogue of Galactic Supernova Remnants, 2017 June version, CDS Catalog VII/278, file snrs.dat, obtained from the CDS at http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/ftp/cats/VII/278/.

Parameters

Name
The catalog designation of the remnant given using the 'SNR' prefix and the Galactic l_II and b_II coordinates to the nearest 0.1 degrees prefixed by 'G' for Galactic. This is the naming convention recommended by the Dictionary of Nomenclature of Celestial Objects and used by SIMBAD.

RA
The Right Ascension of the remnant in the selected equinox. The accuracy of the quoted positions depends on the size of the remnant. For small remnants they are to the nearest few seconds of time and the nearest minute of arc for RA and Dec, respectively, but for larger remnants they are rounded to coarser values. They are in every case sufficient to specify a point within the boundary of the remnant. These coordinates are generally deduced from radio maps rather than from X-ray or optical observations, and were given in the original catalog in J2000.0 equator.

Dec
The Declination of the remnant in the selected equinox. The accuracy of the quoted positions depends on the size of the remnant. For small remnants they are to the nearest few seconds of time and the nearest minute of arc for RA and Dec, respectively, but for larger remnants they are rounded to coarser values. They are in every case sufficient to specify a point within the boundary of the remnant. These coordinates are generally deduced from radio maps rather than from X-ray or optical observations, and were given in the original catalog in J2000.0 equator.

LII
The Galactic longitude of the remnant.

BII
The Galactic latitude of the remnant.

Major_Diameter
The major diameter of the remnant, in arcminutes. The angular size information is usually taken from the highest resolution radio map available. The boundary of most remnants approximates reasonably well to a circle or an ellipse. A single value (placed in the major diameter field) is quoted for the angular size of the more nearly circular remnants, being the diameter of a circle with an area equal to that of the remnant, but, for elongated remnants, both major and minor diameters are given, these being the major and minor axes of the remnant boundary modeled as an ellipse. In a few cases an ellipse is not a satisfactory description of the boundary of the object (refer to the description of the individual object given in the full catalog entry in the Web version of the SNR Catalog at http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/surveys/snrs/), although an angular size is still quoted for information. For `filled-center' remnants, the size quoted is for the largest extent of the observed radio emission, not, as at times has been used, the half-width of the centrally brightened peak.

Minor_Diameter
The minor diameter of the remnant, in arcminutes. The angular size information is usually taken from the highest resolution radio map available. The boundary of most remnants approximates reasonably well to a circle or an ellipse. A single value (placed in the major diameter field) is quoted for the angular size of the more nearly circular remnants, being the diameter of a circle with an area equal to that of the remnant, but, for elongated remnants, both major and minor diameters are given, these being the major and minor axes of the remnant boundary modeled as an ellipse. In a few cases an ellipse is not a satisfactory description of the boundary of the object (refer to the description of the individual object given in the full catalog entry in the Web version of the SNR Catalog at http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/surveys/snrs/), although an angular size is still quoted for information. For `filled-center' remnants, the size quoted is for the largest extent of the observed radio emission, not, as at times has been used, the half-width of the centrally brightened peak.

Flag_Major_Diameter
This flag is set to '?' if there is uncertainty in the quoted angular size information.

Type
The morphological type of the SNR, either "S", "F" or "C" according to whether the remnant shows a "shell", "filled-center" (a.k.a. "plerion"), or "composite" (or "combination") radio structure, respectively, (or "S?", "F?" or "C?", respectively, if there is some uncertainty), or "?" in several cases where an object is conventionally regarded as an SNR even though its nature is poorly known or not well understood.

Limit_Flux_1_GHz
This flag is set to '>' if the quoted 1 GHz flux density is a lower limit.

Flux_1_GHz
The flux density of the remnant at 1 GHz, in milliJansky (mJy). This was converted by the HEASARC from the Jy units quoted in the original catalog. This flux density is not a measured value, but it is that deduced from the observed radio frequency spectrum of the source. The frequency of 1 GHz is chosen because flux density measurements at frequencies both above and below this value are usually available. Note that some young remnants -- notably G111.7-2.1 (=Cassiopeia A) and G184.6-5.8 (=Crab Nebula) -- show secular variations in their radio flux.

Flag_Flux_1_GHz
This flag is set to '?' if the quoted 1 GHz flux density is considered uncertain.

Spectral_Index
The radio spectral index, alpha, where S(nu), the flux density at frequency nu, is proportional to nu^-alpha. The spectral index of the integrated radio emission from the remnant is either a value quoted from the literature, or one deduced from the available integrated flux densities of the remnant. For several SNRs a simple spectral model is not adequate to describe their radio emission, either because the spectral index varies across the face of the remnant or because the integrated spectrum is curved, and in these cases the parameter flag_spectral_index (q.v.) is set to 'V'. In some cases, for example where the remnant is highly confused with thermal emission, the parameter flag_spectral_index (q.v.) is set to '?' since either no value can be deduced with any confidence, or only an uncertain value can be deduced.

Flag_Spectral_Index
This flag is set to 'V' if a simple spectral model is not adequate to describe the remnant's radio emission, either because the spectral index varies across the face of the remnant or because the integrated spectrum is curved, or is set to '?' for cases where the remnant's emission is highly confused with thermal emission, so that either no value can be deduced with any confidence, or only an uncertain value can be deduced.

Alt_Names
Up to three alternate commonly used name for the remnant. A name that is given in parentheses indicates that the remnant is only a part of the source. For some objects, notably the Crab Nebula, not all common names are given.

Class
The HEASARC Browse object classification code, based on the value of the type parameter.

Contact Person

Questions regarding the SNRGREEN database table can be addressed to the HEASARC Help Desk.

Page Author: Browse Software Development Team
Last Modified: Monday, 16-Sep-2024 17:35:10 EDT