Other
Scientific paper
Jul 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002hst..prop.9474s&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #9474
Other
Hst Proposal Id #9474
Scientific paper
We have found a remarkable number of transient point sources in M87. Within the jet itself we have observed dramatic changes in less than a year. The point sources are seen well in the bluest regions of the spectrum, where we obtain high spatial resolution, are free from cosmic ray artifacts and obtain excellent discrimination against the underlying old, red galaxy. They display a variety of unusual properties: one is brighter than any in the catalogue of novae in M31; several are very close to the jet; another hints at rapid variability. We propose to investigate the population of transient sources in M87 and to probe the intrinsic jet variability on short timescales by taking images in the near UV. Do the sources show nova-type light curves? Is there a decline-rate/luminosity relation? If yes, may we use it for distance estimation, as in Galactic novae, and hence constrain the still very important Virgo distance. Are there very rapidly varying sources, flare stars or gravitational lenses? Is the variable stellar population related to the excess globular cluster frequency in M87? Is there a population of flickering objects in and around the jet, which may be responsive emission arising from their close proximity to a BL Lac nucleus {viewed down the jet axis}? Can we find variability in the jet itself indicative of light week length scales?
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