Abstract
The shape and emission properties of asymmetric radiative bowshocks are investigated using analytic models. Two origins for the asymmetry are considered: 1) a transverse density gradient in the ambient medium into which the bowshock is propagating; 2) a skewness in the pressure distribution of the shocked jet gas that is driving the bowshock. In each case, images and position-velocity diagrams are presented for both high- and low-excitation emission lines. These models are applied to observations of bowshocks at the heads of jets from young stars. It is found that, in the case of Herbig-Haro~1, an ambient density gradient is the most likely cause of the asymmetry observed in this object.
