Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Precision astrometry can yield model-independent distances and velocities for neutron stars. Such measurements can be exploited, for example, to locate neutron star birth sites, establish reference frame ties, model the Galactic electron density distribution, and constrain the astrophysics of supernova explosions. As a case study, I discuss recent some parallax and proper motion measurements, and their scientific implications for supernova core collapse and the velocities of ordinary pulsars versus magnetars. I also outline the calibration techniques that are enabling sub-milliarcsecond astrometry of neutron stars with VLBI. In the short term, systematic surveys and high sensitivity on very long baselines will produce ongoing science dividends from precision astrometry at radio wavelengths. In the longer term, new technology such as focal plane arrays, new telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array, and synergy with new instruments such as Gaia, LSST, and GLAST, all hold great promise in an upcoming era of microarcsecond astrometry.
To send this article to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Find out more about sending to your Kindle.
Note you can select to send to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be sent to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To send this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your <service> account. Find out more about sending content to Dropbox.
To send this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your <service> account. Find out more about sending content to Google Drive.
Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this journal to your organisation's collection.