The shells of NGC 5128: debris from a recent merger

Details The shells of NGC 5128: debris from a recent merger The shells of NGC 5128: debris from a recent merger

Dec 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7874b&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #7874

Computer Science

Hst Proposal Id #7874 Galaxies

Scientific paper

At a distance of about 3.6 Mpc, NGC 5128 {= Cen A} is the closest high-luminosity AGN, the closest radio galaxy, the closest giant elliptical and one of the closest and best examples of a merger remnant. The galaxy has prominent dust lanes and shells which, according to several theoretical studies, are the result of a merger with a small satellite galaxy. Here, we propose to obtain deep NICMOS images of one of the outer shells in order to investigate in detail the debris of the accreted satellite. We will use JHK color- magnitude and color-color diagrams of the component stars in the shell to determine the ages and metal abundances of the stellar populations of the cannibalized satellite. Our HST imaging study will be complemented by existing archival WFPC2 images of the halo and nuclear regions of NGC 5128, which will provide an excellent differential comparison with the shell population. This study should provide us with a unique database to directly investigate the timescale of the merger process and place powerful constraints on the theoretical merger models.

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