Visible and far-ultraviolet WFPC2 imaging of the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 205

D. Heath Jones; Jeremy R. Mould; Alan M. Watson; Carl Grillmair; John S. Gallagher; Gilda E. Ballester; Christopher J. Burrows; Stefano Casertano; John T. Clarke; David Crisp; Richard E. Griffiths; J. Jeff Hester; John G. Hoessel; Jon A. Holtzman; Paul Scowen; Karl R. Stapelfeldt; John T. Trauger; James A. Westphal

doi:10.1086/177547

Visible and far-ultraviolet WFPC2 imaging of the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 205

D. Heath Jones, Jeremy R. Mould, Alan M. Watson, Carl Grillmair, John S. Gallagher, Gilda E. Ballester, Christopher J. Burrows, Stefano Casertano, John T. Clarke, David Crisp, Richard E. Griffiths, J. Jeff Hester, John G. Hoessel, Jon A. Holtzman, Paul Scowen, Karl R. Stapelfeldt, John T. Trauger, James A. Westphal

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have imaged the nucleus of NGC 205 through the F555W and F160BW filters of WFPC2 on the high-resolution planetary camera (PC). The nucleus consists of a resolved cluster of stars extending 7" × 6". The projected radial distribution of surface brightness can be fitted by a Hubble law with a small core of FWHM 214 × 190 mas (0.74 × 0.66 pc). We find that the nucleus of NGC 205 shares a number of characteristics with globular clusters. Absolute photometry is also presented in a half-arcsec aperture and is found to verify the amount of UV upturn observed in the spectral energy distribution of the nucleus by others (e.g., Bertola et al. 1995). Of the hypotheses available to explain the origin of the nucleus, the observations are most consistent with its being an intermediate age cluster. The most likely scenarios are that it is a either a star cluster whose orbit has decayed - therefore drawing it to rest at the galaxy center - or a cluster that has formed as the repository of the gas from generations of star formation. Together with the ground-based measurement of a low-velocity dispersion, the small core radius implies a 10⁷ yr relaxation time, suggesting the cluster core may have collapsed. An upper limit of 9 × 10⁴ M_⊙ can be put on the mass of any central black hole.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	742-749
Number of pages	8
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	466
Issue number	2 PART I
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1086/177547
State	Published - 1996

Keywords

Galaxies: individual (NGC 205) galaxies: nuclei galaxies: stellar content ultraviolet: stars

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.1086/177547

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Jones, D. H., Mould, J. R., Watson, A. M., Grillmair, C., Gallagher, J. S., Ballester, G. E., Burrows, C. J., Casertano, S., Clarke, J. T., Crisp, D., Griffiths, R. E., Hester, J. J., Hoessel, J. G., Holtzman, J. A., Scowen, P., Stapelfeldt, K. R., Trauger, J. T., & Westphal, J. A. (1996). Visible and far-ultraviolet WFPC2 imaging of the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 205. Astrophysical Journal, 466(2 PART I), 742-749. https://doi.org/10.1086/177547

Jones, DH, Mould, JR, Watson, AM, Grillmair, C, Gallagher, JS, Ballester, GE, Burrows, CJ, Casertano, S, Clarke, JT, Crisp, D, Griffiths, RE, Hester, JJ, Hoessel, JG, Holtzman, JA, Scowen, P, Stapelfeldt, KR, Trauger, JT & Westphal, JA 1996, 'Visible and far-ultraviolet WFPC2 imaging of the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 205', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 466, no. 2 PART I, pp. 742-749. https://doi.org/10.1086/177547

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title = "Visible and far-ultraviolet WFPC2 imaging of the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 205",

abstract = "We have imaged the nucleus of NGC 205 through the F555W and F160BW filters of WFPC2 on the high-resolution planetary camera (PC). The nucleus consists of a resolved cluster of stars extending 7{"} × 6{"}. The projected radial distribution of surface brightness can be fitted by a Hubble law with a small core of FWHM 214 × 190 mas (0.74 × 0.66 pc). We find that the nucleus of NGC 205 shares a number of characteristics with globular clusters. Absolute photometry is also presented in a half-arcsec aperture and is found to verify the amount of UV upturn observed in the spectral energy distribution of the nucleus by others (e.g., Bertola et al. 1995). Of the hypotheses available to explain the origin of the nucleus, the observations are most consistent with its being an intermediate age cluster. The most likely scenarios are that it is a either a star cluster whose orbit has decayed - therefore drawing it to rest at the galaxy center - or a cluster that has formed as the repository of the gas from generations of star formation. Together with the ground-based measurement of a low-velocity dispersion, the small core radius implies a 107 yr relaxation time, suggesting the cluster core may have collapsed. An upper limit of 9 × 104 M⊙ can be put on the mass of any central black hole.",

keywords = "Galaxies: individual (NGC 205) galaxies: nuclei galaxies: stellar content ultraviolet: stars",

author = "Jones, {D. Heath} and Mould, {Jeremy R.} and Watson, {Alan M.} and Carl Grillmair and Gallagher, {John S.} and Ballester, {Gilda E.} and Burrows, {Christopher J.} and Stefano Casertano and Clarke, {John T.} and David Crisp and Griffiths, {Richard E.} and Hester, {J. Jeff} and Hoessel, {John G.} and Holtzman, {Jon A.} and Paul Scowen and Stapelfeldt, {Karl R.} and Trauger, {John T.} and Westphal, {James A.}",

year = "1996",

doi = "10.1086/177547",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "466",

pages = "742--749",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

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number = "2 PART I",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Visible and far-ultraviolet WFPC2 imaging of the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 205

AU - Jones, D. Heath

AU - Mould, Jeremy R.

AU - Watson, Alan M.

AU - Grillmair, Carl

AU - Gallagher, John S.

AU - Ballester, Gilda E.

AU - Burrows, Christopher J.

AU - Casertano, Stefano

AU - Clarke, John T.

AU - Crisp, David

AU - Griffiths, Richard E.

AU - Hester, J. Jeff

AU - Hoessel, John G.

AU - Holtzman, Jon A.

AU - Scowen, Paul

AU - Stapelfeldt, Karl R.

AU - Trauger, John T.

AU - Westphal, James A.

PY - 1996

Y1 - 1996

N2 - We have imaged the nucleus of NGC 205 through the F555W and F160BW filters of WFPC2 on the high-resolution planetary camera (PC). The nucleus consists of a resolved cluster of stars extending 7" × 6". The projected radial distribution of surface brightness can be fitted by a Hubble law with a small core of FWHM 214 × 190 mas (0.74 × 0.66 pc). We find that the nucleus of NGC 205 shares a number of characteristics with globular clusters. Absolute photometry is also presented in a half-arcsec aperture and is found to verify the amount of UV upturn observed in the spectral energy distribution of the nucleus by others (e.g., Bertola et al. 1995). Of the hypotheses available to explain the origin of the nucleus, the observations are most consistent with its being an intermediate age cluster. The most likely scenarios are that it is a either a star cluster whose orbit has decayed - therefore drawing it to rest at the galaxy center - or a cluster that has formed as the repository of the gas from generations of star formation. Together with the ground-based measurement of a low-velocity dispersion, the small core radius implies a 107 yr relaxation time, suggesting the cluster core may have collapsed. An upper limit of 9 × 104 M⊙ can be put on the mass of any central black hole.

AB - We have imaged the nucleus of NGC 205 through the F555W and F160BW filters of WFPC2 on the high-resolution planetary camera (PC). The nucleus consists of a resolved cluster of stars extending 7" × 6". The projected radial distribution of surface brightness can be fitted by a Hubble law with a small core of FWHM 214 × 190 mas (0.74 × 0.66 pc). We find that the nucleus of NGC 205 shares a number of characteristics with globular clusters. Absolute photometry is also presented in a half-arcsec aperture and is found to verify the amount of UV upturn observed in the spectral energy distribution of the nucleus by others (e.g., Bertola et al. 1995). Of the hypotheses available to explain the origin of the nucleus, the observations are most consistent with its being an intermediate age cluster. The most likely scenarios are that it is a either a star cluster whose orbit has decayed - therefore drawing it to rest at the galaxy center - or a cluster that has formed as the repository of the gas from generations of star formation. Together with the ground-based measurement of a low-velocity dispersion, the small core radius implies a 107 yr relaxation time, suggesting the cluster core may have collapsed. An upper limit of 9 × 104 M⊙ can be put on the mass of any central black hole.

KW - Galaxies: individual (NGC 205) galaxies: nuclei galaxies: stellar content ultraviolet: stars

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DO - 10.1086/177547

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SN - 0004-637X

VL - 466

SP - 742

EP - 749

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

IS - 2 PART I

ER -

Visible and far-ultraviolet WFPC2 imaging of the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 205

Abstract

Keywords

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