EXOSAT LE-CMA observations of the Vela supernova remnant

Presented here are Exosat LE1-CMA images of fields in the Vela SNR. Soft X-ray emission is observed in the north of the remnant indicating a filamentry structure. No X-ray emission was seen in two fields to the west and south-west which have optical filaments but were not studied by Einstein. The Vela pulsar is observed and is significantly broader than a point source indicating the presence of a small nebula as seen by the Einstein HRI. The flux seen from the point source in the CMA is consistent with blackbody radiation from a 10⁶ degree neutron star of approx. 10 km radius. A bright ridge of emission is seen north of the pulsar which may be part of the extended synchroton nebula seen in the 2–10 keV range.