Elliptical galaxies with shells - NGC 3923

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Elliptical Galaxies, Galactic Structure, Astronomical Photometry, Collisions, Galactic Evolution, Spherical Shells

Scientific paper

The morphology and origin of E-type galaxies with shells are discussed in a brief review. An image of NGC 3923 obtained by the unsharp-masking technique and revealing the presence of at least six nested shells of stars surrounding the galactic nucleus is shown, and it is pointed out that about 11 percent of all E galaxies have been found to have such shells. The theory of shell generation as a result of a collision between a massive E galaxy and a smaller disk galaxy is illustrated with a series of computer-simulation images (Quinn, 1984) showing the evolution of clearly defined shells in an E galaxy over 180 Myr after a collision with a disk 100 times lighter. The need to improve the collision model to account for the relatively high percentage of E galaxies with shells and for their apparent concentration in regions of low galactic density is indicated, and possible collision-accretion explanations for the invisible mass of galaxies are considered.

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