WIKISKY.ORG
 Home Getting Started To Survive in the Universe News@Sky Astro Photo The Collection Forum Blog New! FAQ Press Login

NGC 2887

Contents

Images

DSS Images   Other Images

Related articles

 Line-of-Sight Reddening Predictions: Zero Points, Accuracies, the Interstellar Medium, and the Stellar Populations of Elliptical GalaxiesRevised (B-V)0-Mg2 data, which are used to testreddening predictions, are presented for 402 elliptical galaxies. Thesereddening predictions can tell us both what the intrinsic errors are inthis relationship among gE galaxy stellar populations as well as detailsof nearby structure in the interstellar medium (ISM) of our Galaxy, andof the intrinsic errors in reddening predictions. Using least-squaresfits, the explicit 1 σ errors in reddenings predicted by theBurstein-Heiles (BH) method and the Schlegel and coworkers (IR) methodare calculated, as well as the 1 σ observational error in the(B-V)0-Mg2 for gE galaxies. It is found that indirections with E(B-V)<0.100 mag (where most of these galaxies lie),1 σ errors in the IR reddening predictions are 0.006-0.009 mag inE(B-V), those for BH reddening predictions are 0.011 mag, and the 1σ agreement between the two reddening predictions is 0.007 mag.The IR predictions have an accuracy of 0.010-0.011 mag in directionswith E(B-V)>=0.100 mag, significantly better than those of the BHpredictions (0.024-0.025). Both methods yield good evidence thatgas-to-dust variations that vary by a factor of 3, both high and low,exist along many lines of sight in our Galaxy. Both methods also predictmany directions with E(B-V)<0.015 mag, despite the difference in zeropoint that each has assumed. The ~0.02 higher reddening zero point inE(B-V) previously determined by Schlegel and coworkers is confirmed,primarily at the Galactic poles. Independent evidence of reddening atthe north Galactic pole (NGP) is reviewed, with the conclusion thatdirections still exist at the NGP that have E(B-V)<<0.01. Twolines of evidence suggest that IR reddenings are overpredicted indirections with high gas-to-dust ratios. As high gas-to-dust directionsin the ISM also include the Galactic poles, this overprediction is thelikely cause of the E(B-V)~0.02 mag larger IR reddening zero pointrelative to that of BH. Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Circular-Aperture PhotometryWe present R-band CCD photometry for 1332 early-type galaxies, observedas part of the ENEAR survey of peculiar motions using early-typegalaxies in the nearby universe. Circular apertures are used to tracethe surface brightness profiles, which are then fitted by atwo-component bulge-disk model. From the fits, we obtain the structuralparameters required to estimate galaxy distances using theDn-σ and fundamental plane relations. We find thatabout 12% of the galaxies are well represented by a pure r1/4law, while 87% are best fitted by a two-component model. There are 356repeated observations of 257 galaxies obtained during different runsthat are used to derive statistical corrections and bring the data to acommon system. We also use these repeated observations to estimate ourinternal errors. The accuracy of our measurements are tested by thecomparison of 354 galaxies in common with other authors. Typical errorsin our measurements are 0.011 dex for logDn, 0.064 dex forlogre, 0.086 mag arcsec-2 for<μe>, and 0.09 for mRC,comparable to those estimated by other authors. The photometric datareported here represent one of the largest high-quality and uniformall-sky samples currently available for early-type galaxies in thenearby universe, especially suitable for peculiar motion studies.Based on observations at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO),National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., undercooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF);European Southern Observatory (ESO); Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory(FLWO); and the MDM Observatory on Kitt Peak. A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxiesWe have compiled a catalogue of the gas content for a sample of 1916galaxies, considered to be a fair representation of normality''. Thedefinition of a normal'' galaxy adopted in this work implies that wehave purposely excluded from the catalogue galaxies having distortedmorphology (such as interaction bridges, tails or lopsidedness) and/orany signature of peculiar kinematics (such as polar rings,counterrotating disks or other decoupled components). In contrast, wehave included systems hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) in thecatalogue. This catalogue revises previous compendia on the ISM contentof galaxies published by \citet{bregman} and \citet{casoli}, andcompiles data available in the literature from several small samples ofgalaxies. Masses for warm dust, atomic and molecular gas, as well asX-ray luminosities have been converted to a uniform distance scale takenfrom the Catalogue of Principal Galaxies (PGC). We have used twodifferent normalization factors to explore the variation of the gascontent along the Hubble sequence: the blue luminosity (LB)and the square of linear diameter (D225). Ourcatalogue significantly improves the statistics of previous referencecatalogues and can be used in future studies to define a template ISMcontent for normal'' galaxies along the Hubble sequence. The cataloguecan be accessed on-line and is also available at the Centre desDonnées Stellaires (CDS).The catalogue is available in electronic form athttp://dipastro.pd.astro.it/galletta/ismcat and at the CDS via anonymousftp to\ cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via\http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/405/5 A catalogue and analysis of X-ray luminosities of early-type galaxiesWe present a catalogue of X-ray luminosities for 401 early-typegalaxies, of which 136 are based on newly analysed ROSAT PSPC pointedobservations. The remaining luminosities are taken from the literatureand converted to a common energy band, spectral model and distancescale. Using this sample we fit the LX:LB relationfor early-type galaxies and find a best-fit slope for the catalogue of~2.2. We demonstrate the influence of group-dominant galaxies on the fitand present evidence that the relation is not well modelled by a singlepower-law fit. We also derive estimates of the contribution to galaxyX-ray luminosities from discrete-sources and conclude that they provideLdscr/LB~=29.5ergs-1LBsolar-1. Wecompare this result with luminosities from our catalogue. Lastly, weexamine the influence of environment on galaxy X-ray luminosity and onthe form of the LX:LB relation. We conclude thatalthough environment undoubtedly affects the X-ray properties ofindividual galaxies, particularly those in the centres of groups andclusters, it does not change the nature of whole populations. Line-of-sight velocity distributions of 53 early-type galaxies55 long-slit spectra of 53 early-type galaxies were observed at LaSilla/ESO and reduced using standard methods. The line-of-sight velocitydistributions (LOSVDs) were measured using the fourier quotient methodand the fourier fitting method as described by van der Marel et al.(\cite{vdmarel93}). 32% of the examined galaxies contain kinematicallydecoupled stellar omponents, the size of these cores was 0.40 +/- 0.28kpc, in each case the core was smaller than 1 kpc. Analysis of thekinematics reveals in 49% of the sample galaxies the signature of astellar disk component, in 15% this is uncertain. There is evidence thatthe phenomenon of kinematically decoupled components is present in thewhole class of early-type galaxies. Several correlations betweenphotometric and kinematic parameters like the (v/sigma )* vs.epsilon diagram, the anisotropy - luminosity correlation or kappa -spacewere as well examined using measurement results for spectroscopic dataand photometric data out of literature. It is also shown that thosesample galaxies with kinematically decoupled components are more likelyto be found in groups of high density, strengthening the assumption thatsuch components are remnants of merging events. Full Fig. 6 is onlyavailable at http://www.edpsciences.org A catalog of galaxies behind the Southern Milky Way . I. The Hydra/Antlia extension (l~ 266or - 296or)A deep optical galaxy search in the southern Milky Way - aimed atreducing the width of the Zone of Avoidance - revealed 3279 galaxycandidates above the diameter limit of D >~ 0.2', of which only 112(3.4%) were previously catalogued. The surveyed region (266o<~ \ell <~ 296o and -10o <~ b <~+8o) lies in the extension of the Hydra and Antlia clusters -where a supercluster is suspected - and in the approximate direction ofthe dipole anisotropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. Herewe present the optical properties of the unveiled galaxies such aspositions, diameters, magnitudes, morphological types, including adetailed discussion on the quality of these data and the completenesslimits as a function of the foreground dust extinction. For 127 of the227 positional matches in the IRAS PSC, a reliable cross-identificationcould be found. Several distinct overdensities and filaments of galaxiescan be identified that are apparently uncorrelated with the Galacticforeground extinction hence the probable signature of extragalacticlarge-scale structures. This catalog constitutes the first part in aseries of five equally conducted optical searches for galaxies in thesouthern Milky Way (245o <~ \ell <~ 350o).With these surveys, the entire Zone of Avoidance will have been coveredby means of visual inspection. The catalogs build the basis for variousspectroscopic and photometric follow-up programs which eventually willallow a thorough analyse of the galaxy distribution in redshift spaceand the peculiar velocity fields within the Zone of Avoidance, as wellan an improved understanding of the Galactic foreground extinction.Tables 1 and 2 are available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html X-ray luminosities for a magnitude-limited sample of early-type galaxies from the ROSAT All-Sky SurveyFor a magnitude-limited optical sample (B_T <= 13.5 mag) ofearly-type galaxies, we have derived X-ray luminosities from the ROSATAll-Sky Survey. The results are 101 detections and 192 useful upperlimits in the range from 10^36 to 10^44 erg s^-1. For most of thegalaxies no X-ray data have been available until now. On the basis ofthis sample with its full sky coverage, we find no galaxy with anunusually low flux from discrete emitters. Below log (L_B) ~ 9.2L_⊗ the X-ray emission is compatible with being entirely due todiscrete sources. Above log (L_B) ~ 11.2 L_osolar no galaxy with onlydiscrete emission is found. We further confirm earlier findings that L_xis strongly correlated with L_B. Over the entire data range the slope isfound to be 2.23 (+/- 0.12). We also find a luminosity dependence ofthis correlation. Below log L_x = 40.5 erg s^-1 it is consistent with aslope of 1, as expected from discrete emission. Above this value theslope is close to 2, as expected from gaseous emission. Comparing thedistribution of X-ray luminosities with the models of Ciotti et al.leads to the conclusion that the vast majority of early-type galaxiesare in the wind or outflow phase. Some of the galaxies may have alreadyexperienced the transition to the inflow phase. They show X-rayluminosities in excess of the value predicted by cooling flow modelswith the largest plausible standard supernova rates. A possibleexplanation for these super X-ray-luminous galaxies is suggested by thesmooth transition in the L_x--L_B plane from galaxies to clusters ofgalaxies. Gas connected to the group environment might cause the X-rayoverluminosity. A catalogue of Mg_2 indices of galaxies and globular clustersWe present a catalogue of published absorption-line Mg_2 indices ofgalaxies and globular clusters. The catalogue is maintained up-to-datein the HYPERCAT database. The measurements are listed together with thereferences to the articles where the data were published. A codeddescription of the observations is provided. The catalogue gathers 3541measurements for 1491 objects (galaxies or globular clusters) from 55datasets. Compiled raw data for 1060 galaxies are zero-point correctedand transformed to a homogeneous system. Tables 1, 3, and 4 areavailable in electronic form only at the CDS, Strasbourg, via anonymousftp 130.79.128.5. Table 2 is available both in text and electronic form. Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxiesWe present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory. Comparative study of fine structure in samples of isolated and paired early-type galaxiesFine structure in early-type galaxies is considered to be among the morerobust indicators of a past merging or acquisition event, althoughgrowing evidence from numerical simulations suggests that fine structuremay be also interpreted in a weak interaction' framework. We present amorphological study of a sample composed of 61 isolated' early-typegalaxies addressed to the detection of fine structure. This sample hasbeen selected in order to be statistically comparable to a set of 54early-type galaxies, members of pairs analysed by Reduzzi & Rampazzowith a similar technique. The rate of occurrence of fine structuredetected in the `isolated' galaxy sample is significantly higher thanthat found for the pairs. In particular, the fraction of isolatedearly-type galaxies exhibiting shells is 16.4 per cent, a percentagesimilar to that found by Malin & Carter for RC2 isolated objects inthe southern sky, while the fraction of early-type galaxies in pairs is~=4 per cent. We discuss the comparison between the two samples in thecontext of the merger versus the weak interaction origin of finestructures. Concerning the formation of shells, although the mergerorigin cannot be ruled out, the observed difference is more naturallyexplained within the weak interaction framework. An Extension of Hierarchical Star Formation to Galactic ScalesStar formation scaling laws and hierarchical patterns on galactic scalesare investigated. The molecular cloud size-line width relation suggeststhat the duration of star formation in a region of size L shouldincrease as L^1/2^. This conjecture is supported by observations ofstar- forming regions in our Galaxy and by the distribution of Cepheidvariables in the LMC. Extending this relation to galactic scales, wesuggest that coherent star formation exists over regions much largerthan a single star complex ( > 1 kpc), taking the form of shearedspiral arms whenever the dimension is larger than the galacticthickness. The properties of star-forming spirals in nearby flocculentgalaxies are measured; they typically extend for at least one-third ofthe galaxy diameter and consist of ~5 star complexes separated by ~1kpc. Star- forming spirals appear to be as self-gravitating as all otherscales in the star-formation hierarchy. We propose that stars form inhierarchically clustered systems ranging from less than 0.1 pc to multi-kpc scales, following the hierarchical distribution of the gas. Thisstructure is generated on all scales by self-gravity and turbulence,with distortion from shear being relatively more important on largescales. Turbulent compression and energy loss (rather than collapse)determine the basic evolution time for a region. The hierarchicalpattern disappears when the gas temporarily becomes structured byregular forces, as in spiral density waves and swept-up shells. Thenclouds and young stars can appear like beads on a string because mildgravitational instabilities at the collapse threshold have acharacteristic length of ~3 times the arm or filament width. The fundamental plane of early-type galaxies: stellar populations and mass-to-light ratio.We analyse the residuals to the fundamental plane (FP) of ellipticalgalaxies as a function of stellar-population indicators; these are basedon the line-strength parameter Mg_2_ and on UBVRI broad-band colors, andare partly derived from new observations. The effect of the stellarpopulations accounts for approximately half the observed variation ofthe mass-to-light ratio responsible for the FP tilt. The residual tiltcan be explained by the contribution of two additional effects: thedependence of the rotational support, and possibly that of the spatialstructure, on the luminosity. We conclude to a constancy of thedynamical-to-stellar mass ratio. This probably extends to globularclusters as well, but the dominant factor would be here the luminositydependence of the structure rather than that of the stellar population.This result also implies a constancy of the fraction of dark matter overall the scalelength covered by stellar systems. Our compilation ofinternal stellar kinematics of galaxies is appended. Candidates for a southern extension of the Karachentsev catalogue of isolated pairs of galaxies.Not Available A Catalog of Stellar Velocity Dispersions. II. 1994 UpdateA catalog of central velocity dispersion measurements is presented,current through 1993 September. The catalog includes 2474 measurementsof 1563 galaxies. A standard set of 86 galaxies is defined, consistingof galaxies with at least three reliable, concordant measurements. It issuggested that future studies observe some of these standard galaxies sothat different studies can be normalized to a consistent system. Allmeasurements are reduced to a normalized system using these standards. Multicolor surface photometry of early-type galaxies. I.We have obtained v,g,r and i CCD surface photometry for a sample of 109early-type galaxies. Many of the galaxies covered have no previouslypublished CCD or aperture photometry. Our surface brightness profilestypically extend down to a surface brightness ofμ_r_~24mag/arcsec^2^. Detailed comparisons with previously publishedwork, and internal and external error estimates for all quantities areprovided. The complete surface photometry data set is made available ina computer-readable form. UBVRI photoelectric photometry of bright southern early-type galaxiesUBVRI multi-aperture photometry of 207 bright southern galaxies and of72 objects of an additional list is presented. These observations weremade for obtaining the magnitude scale zero-point as an accuratedetermination of the sky background for a two-dimensional photometryprogram concerning these galaxies. We have also inferred the asymptoticmagnitudes, color indices and effective apertures of these objects. Ourresults are in good agreement with those of others authors. The detection of the CO emission of the elliptical galaxy NGC 7176A search for CO emission in 18 southern elliptical galaxies is reported.The present, still scarce CO detections of elliptical galaxies suggestthat the nominal H2 mass (i.e., the CO emission) is closely correlatedwith the HI mass. The nominal H2 masses are nearly equal to the HImasses. There may also be a good correlation between CO emission (ornominal H2 masses) and the IR flux. The CO emission (or nominal H2 mass)and possibly also the FIR flux per unit blue luminosity are expected tovary greatly between individual E galaxies. In that case the ratio ofgas mass to dust mass may be nearly constant for elliptical galaxies,although their M(HI)/L(B) ratios show such a wide range of variations. The surface brightness test for the expansion of the universe. II - Radii, surface brightness, and absolute magnitude correlations for nearby E galaxiesData for elliptical galaxies in the Virgo, Fornax, and Coma clusters andin the general field are analyzed in order to determine the dispersionin average surface brightness. The data are discussed using measures ofboth the effective radius and the Petrosian r(eta) radii. The dispersionis found to be about 0.5 mag after reducing the data to absolutemagnitude M(B) = -22. This value is smaller than the 1.8 mag Tolman (1 +z) exp 4 factor, even at the modest redshift of z = 0.5, showing thatthe Tolman test is feasible in practice as well as in principle. Low-luminosity radio sources in early-type galaxiesA sensitive radio continuum survey of 114 nearby E and S0 galaxies hasbeen made to search for weak sources. The radio detection rate is 42percent, with a flux limit of 0.8 mJy at 5 GHz. By deriving the radioluminosity function for a complete sample, it is shown that most brightearly-type galaxies have low-luminosity nonthermal radio sources.Galaxies of similar optical luminosity vary widely in radio luminosity,but a characteristic radio power rises roughly as the optical luminositysquared. S0 galaxies have weaker radio sources on average thanelliptical galaxies, but this can be explained by the low luminosity ofmost S0 bulges relative to ellipticals. No correlation is found betweenradio power and axial ratio for galaxies with radio luminosities below10 to the 23rd W/Hz. On the relationship between radio emission and optical properties in early-type galaxiesTo study the origin of radio activity in early-type galaxies, thepossible dependence of their radio emission on basic optical parameters,such as the absolute magnitude, the central velocity dispersion sigma,and the mean surface brightness mu is explored. A sample of 743 E and SOgalaxies is used which is based on three independent radio surveys ofoptically selected galaxies with virtually complete information onmagnitudes, morphological types, redshift distances, diameters, andradio fluxes. For both E and SO galaxies, only the absolute magnitudeappears to be directly related to the radio activity, while sigma and mudo not. Also, a significant dependence of the apparent flattening onradio power is confirmed for E galaxies. Some relevant implications ofthese results are discussed. Spectroscopy and photometry of elliptical galaxies. III - UBV aperture photometry, CCD photometry, and magnitude-related parametersPhotoelectric aperture photometry of nearly 2000 individual observationsof 449 elliptical galaxies combined with published measurements usingthe self-consistent UVB color catalog developed by Burstein et al.(1987) are presented. The data are placed on a standard magnitude andcolor system, and 'total' magnitudes and effective diameters are derivedby comparison with the standard elliptical magnitude growth curve. Agraphical representation of the standard growth curve and the residualsfrom it for each galaxy are given, and a new diameter measurement Dn ispresented which can be measured reliably for elliptical galaxies andserves as an accurate distance indicator when combined with centralvelocity dispersion. Individual magnitudes, surface brightnesses,effective diameters, and values of Dn are summarized for each galaxy incatalog form. Spectroscopy and photometry of elliptical galaxies. II - The spectroscopic parametersRadial velocities, velocity dispersions, and Mg line-strength indicesare measured for 469 elliptical galaxies using four telescope/detectorconfigurations. The data have been put on a common scale; the scatter ofrepeat measurements indicates an uncertainty of + or - 10 percent and +or - 0.01 mag for single determinations of sigma and Mg2, respectively.A correction for the change in linear aperture size as a function ofdistance has been derived, and mean corrected values of sigma and Mg2are adopted. The galaxies have been assigned to groups by combining thepresent velocities with those in the redshift catalog of Huchra et al.(1983) and using the algorithm of Huchra and Geller (1982). Ionized gas in elliptical and S0 galaxies. I - A survey for H-alpha and forbidden N II emissionA spectroscopic survey of a large sample of southern E and S0 galaxiesin order to detect ionized gas in the nuclei is reported. The strongestline in the 6000-7000 A range was nearly always forbidden N II 6584 A,followed by H-alpha and forbidden S II 6716, 6731 A. Identical detectionrates of about 50 percent were obtained for the forbidden N II line inboth E and S0 galaxies. The mass of ionized gas in early-type galaxieswas very small, with values typically in the range 1000-10,000 solarmasses. The relative emission-line strengths in virtually every casewere indistinguishable from those of LINER nuclei. The observed valuesof the forbidden N II 6584 A/H-alpha ratios fell mostly between one andthree and seem correlated with galaxy absolute magnitude. The existenceof such a correlation may be indicative of metallicity differences. Southern Galaxy Catalogue.Not Available Radio and optical observations of a complete sample of E and SO galaxies. III. A radio continuum survey at 2.7 and 5.0 GHz.Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1984AJ.....89...53S&db_key=AST Radio and optical observations of a complete sample of E and SO galaxies. II. UBV aperture photometry.Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1984AJ.....89...34S&db_key=AST Radio and optical observations of a complete sample of E and S0 galaxies. I - Radial velocities. II - UBV aperture photometry. III - A radio continuum survey at 2.7 and 5.0 GHzAbstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1984AJ.....89...23S&db_key=AST On the variation of ellipticity with radius in elliptical galaxiesEllipticity profiles and isophotal structures of 75 elliptical galaxieswith declinations south of approximately -23 deg are compared. Thesample studied includes both isolated ellipticals and members of pairs,multiplets, groups, and clusters. It is found that: (1) ellipticalgalaxies present four trends as a function of radius, viz., constant,peaked, decreasing, and increasing outward; (2) there is a correlationbetween ellipticity profile and membership in groups or clusters; (3)the brightest ellipticals in rich groups and compact clusters haveellipticity profiles that increase with radius; and (4) rotation of themajor axis of the isophotes is correlated with asymmetry of theisophotes, regardless of the class of ellipticity profile.
Submit a new article