The central point source in G76.9+1.0

We describe the serendipitous discovery of a very steep-spectrum radio point source in low-frequency Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) images of the supernova remnant (SNR) G76.9+1.0. The steep spectrum, as well as the location of the point source near the centre of this SNR confirm that this indeed is the pulsar J2022+3842. Archival Chandra X-ray data shows a point source coincident with the radio point source. However, no pulsed radio emission was detected despite deep searches at 610 MHz and 1160 MHz – which can be understood to be due to temporal broadening of the pulses. Weak pulsed emission has indeed been seen at 2 GHz with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), establishing the fact that scattering is responsible for its non-detection at low radio frequencies. We underline the usefulness of low-frequency radio imaging as a good technique to prospect for pulsar candidates.