Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2000-07-27
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
27 Pages, 1 Table, 14 Figures, to appear in the October issue of AJ
Scientific paper
10.1086/301547
We observed the Blue Compact Dwarf/Wolf-Rayet galaxy Mrk 178 with the NICMOS camera aboard HST. The galaxy is well resolved into individual stars in the near-IR; photometry in J and H yields color-magnitude diagrams containing 791 individual point sources. We discuss the stellar content, drawing particular attention to the intermediate age and/or old stars. Mrk 178 is only the second Blue Compact Dwarf galaxy in which the red giant branch has been resolved, indicating stars with ages of at least 1-2Gyr. This allows us to derive a distance of $\geq$4.2($\pm$0.5)Mpc. The near-IR color-magnitude diagram also exhibits an abundance of luminous, asymptotic giant branch stars. We find that this requires vigorous star formation several hundred Myr ago. Some candidate carbon stars are identified via their extreme near-IR color. We argue that Mrk178 is fundamentally an old galaxy, based on the NICMOS detection of red giants underlying the blue, starburst core, and its extended, faint halo of redder color.
Crone Mary M.
Greggio Laura
Hopp Ulrich
Schulte-Ladbeck Regina E.
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