Recent star formation in the interacting galaxy system NGC 520

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

16

Galactic Structure, Interacting Galaxies, Star Formation, Infrared Astronomy, Starburst Galaxies

Scientific paper

New optical spectroscopy, near-infrared spectroscopy, and mid-infrared imaging of the interacting system NGC 520 are presented. The data show that the heavily obscured primary nucleus has a current star-forming rate about 35 times the typical rate for a late-type galaxy nucleus, which may account for most of the large far-infrared luminosity of NGC 520. The secondary nucleus has little current star formation but has recently undergone a mild starburst. Optical colors and absorption line equivalent widths suggest that the extranuclear regions in both galaxies have experienced enhanced star formation roughly at the same time as the secondary nucleus, though at a lesser intensity. The extent of the extranuclear burst is large; at least half of the projected surface area of the two disks took part to varying degrees in the episode. Determining the exact age and strength of the recent star-formation episode in NGC 520 is uncertain. The best estimate for the initiation time of about few x 10 exp 8 yrs ago is consistent with the system-wide starburst being caused by the galaxy collision.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Recent star formation in the interacting galaxy system NGC 520 does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Recent star formation in the interacting galaxy system NGC 520, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Recent star formation in the interacting galaxy system NGC 520 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1716781

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.