Bow-shock nebulae in the wise all-sky survey: around the celestial equator

This is a preliminary survey for bow-shock nebulae within one degree of the celestial equator using the WISE All-Sky Data Release. Bow-shock nebulae are clumps of gas and dust that have been condensed by the winds of stars moving through the interstellar medium. This survey has discovered twenty-four bow-shock nebula candidates and their candidate wind-blowing stars. bow-shocks were preferentially found at low galactic latitudes and near the Galactic Center and Anti-Center, as expected. Intriguingly and contrary to previous assumptions, they were not found primarily around OB-runaway stars. A third of the bow-shock nebulae we discovered were around T Tauri stars or young stellar objects (YSOs). Even more unexpectedly, another third of the bow-shock nebulae we found are around A- and F-type stars, which seem too cool to excite the nebulae. This research was funded by a NASA California space grant.