In July 2014 we carried out the first
multi-beam observation of extragalactic HI with ASKAP. We targeted two
gas-rich, nearby spiral galaxies in the Sculptor Group: NGC 253 and NGC 247.
These galaxies are 4.5 degrees apart and only thanks to the large field of
view of ASKAP we were able to observe them simultaneously. We took advantage
of the flexibility of BETA and formed its 9 beams along a straight line going
from NGC 253 to NGC 247. The image shows the resulting HI velocity field
(NGC 253 is on the left) as well as the beam footprint, which covers the
full linear size of ASKAP's field of view.
|