Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2003-05-13
Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 344 (2003) 105
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
5 pages, 2 figures, accepted May 2003 in the MNRAS
Scientific paper
10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06793.x
Submillimetre maps of NGC 891 have been obtained with the PRONAOS balloon-borne telescope and with the ISOPHOT instrument on board the ISO satellite. In this article, we also gather data from IRAS and SCUBA to present the complete submillimetre spectrum of this nearby edge-on spiral galaxy. We derive submillimetre emission profiles along the major axis. The modified blackbody fits, assuming a single dust component, lead to temperatures of 19-24 K toward the centre and 18-20 K toward the edges, with possible variations of the dust spectral index from 1.4 to 2. The two-component fits lead to a warm component temperature of 29 K all along the galaxy with a cold component at 16 K. The interstellar medium masses derived by these two methods are quite different: 4.6 x 10^9 Mo in the case of the one-component model and 12 x 10^9 Mo in the case of the two-component one. This two-component fit indicates that the cold dust to warm dust ratio is 20 to 40, the highest values being in the wings of this galaxy. Comparing to dust mass estimates, both estimations of the ISM mass are consistent with a gas to dust mass ratio of 240, which is close to the Milky Way value. Our results illustrate the importance of accurate submillimetre spectra to derive masses of the interstellar medium in galaxies.
Bernard J.-Ph.
del Burgo Carlos
Dupac Xavier
Giard Martin
Lamarre Jean-Michel
No associations
LandOfFree
The complete submillimetre spectrum of NGC 891 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 complete submillimetre spectrum of NGC 891, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The complete submillimetre spectrum of NGC 891 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-91028