The Ultraviolet Hubble Sequence

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

2

Scientific paper

The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) has returned the first significant sample of far-UV imagery of galaxies which combines a large field-of-view and spatial resolution comparable to ground-based observatories. The UIT data permit determination of both global FUV properties with improved photometric precision, and detailed investigation of galaxian morphology at intermediate (spiral arms, circumnuclear rings), and small (star-forming complexes) spatial scales. This spectral range is highly valuable for tracing the spatial distribution of recent star formation, and characterizing global star formation rates. An understanding of the FUV properties of local systems is also crucial for interpretation of systems at high redshift, where the observed light is the redshifted UV continuum. During the Astro Spacelab missions, UIT obtained FUV (lambda lambda \ 1500 Angstroms) imagery of ~ 60 galaxies with D25 > 1(') , spanning the Hubble sequence from E0 to Im. We highlight several aspects of the global properties of the entire UIT galaxy dataset, including surface brightness distributions, comparative FUV/optical/NIR morphology, and the usefulness of the spatially-sampled FUV/Hα ratio as a stellar population diagnostic. We also provide a first description of the ultraviolet Hubble Sequence. A variety of radial light profiles are found, including two systems, NGC 4214 and NGC 3310, which exhibit R(1/4) profiles produced by their Population I stellar components. Sb-Sc spirals often show a nuclear peak, followed by a region of approximately constant FUV surface brightness, and then an exponential decline at larger radii. Overall, elliptical systems display the most similar FUV/optical morphology, while early-type spirals show the most divergent. The UV and optical/NIR data will be combined in a series of Atlases which will become available in 1998.

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

The Ultraviolet Hubble Sequence 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 The Ultraviolet Hubble Sequence, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Ultraviolet Hubble Sequence will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1175733

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