Open AccessMERLIN observations of Stephan's Quintet
Author(s) -
Xanthopoulos E.,
Muxlow T. W. B.,
Thomasson P.,
Garrington S. T.
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.08133.x
Subject(s) - physics , merlin (protein) , astrophysics , galaxy , astronomy , star formation , radio galaxy , core (optical fiber) , optics , medicine , cancer , suppressor
We present MERLIN L ‐band images of the compact galaxy group, Stephan's Quintet (SQ). The Seyfert 2 galaxy, NGC 7319, the brightest member of the compact group, is seen to have a triple radio structure typical of many extra‐galactic radio sources that have a flat spectrum core and two steep spectrum lobes with hot spots. The two lobes are asymmetrically distributed on opposite sides of the core along the minor axis of the galaxy. Ultraviolet (UV) emission revealed in a high‐resolution channel (HRC)/ACS Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) image is strongly aligned with the radio plasma and we interpret the intense star formation in the core and north lobe as an event induced by the collision of the north radio jet with over‐dense ambient material. In addition, a remapping of archive Very Large Array (VLA) L ‐band observations reveals more extended emission along the major axis of the galaxy, which is aligned with the optical axis. Images formed from the combined MERLIN and archive VLA data reveal more detailed structure of the two lobes and hot spots.