Open AccessAn optical velocity for the Phoenix dwarf galaxy
Author(s) -
Irwin Mike,
Tolstoy Eline
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05802.x
Subject(s) - physics , phoenix , astrophysics , radial velocity , astronomy , galaxy , dwarf galaxy , brightness , telescope , stars , medicine , metropolitan area , pathology
We present the results of a Very Large Telescope observing programme carried out in service mode using FORS1 on ANTU in long‐slit mode to determine the optical velocities of nearby low surface brightness galaxies. As part of our programme of service observations we obtained long‐slit spectra of several members of the Phoenix dwarf galaxy from which we derive an optical heliocentric radial velocity of −13 ± 9 km s −1 . This agrees very well with the velocity of the most promising of the H i clouds seen around Phoenix, which has a heliocentric velocity of −23 km s −1 , but is significantly different from the recently published optical heliocentric velocity of Phoenix of −52 ± 6km s −1 by Gallart et al.