Other
Scientific paper
Jul 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996hst..prop.6441s&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #6441
Other
Hst Proposal Id #6441 Galaxies &Amp, Clusters
Scientific paper
In a ground-based attempt at the Palomar 5m to determine the distances to M81 Group galaxies using the tip of the red giant branch {TRGB} method, we have discovered a population of at least 1700 star-like objects at I = 21-26 mag and V-I = 1.0 mag within and around the amorphous galaxy NGC 3077. Two possible interpretations for these objects are: {1} intermediate-aged asymptotic giant branch stars, or {2} a vast population of globular clusters unresolved from the ground. In either case, this represents the first resolution of the `stellar' population in an amorphous {= Type II irregular} galaxy. These objects are also most likely a product of the encounter of NGC 3077 with M81. HST provides a resolution of 1.8 parsec/pixel at the distance of the M81 group; even modest V + I exposures should be capable of discriminating between globular clusters and stars based on simple radial luminosity profiles. In these same images, the TRGB stars {expected to begin at I 23.7 mag} will be resolved and a direct distance to NGC 3077 will be obtained. For direct comparison, M82 is another amorphous galaxy in this same group. A differential study of the bright stellar populations in two of the nearest examples of these rare forms of tidally-interacting systems can thus be made in a distance-independent way. We plan therefore to image the halo population of M82 also for the first time, searching for its AGB/cluster population, as well as surely measuring the TRGB population.
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