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The NGC 1512/10 galaxy pair

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DSS image (20 arcmin x 20 arcmin)

ATCA Results


The remarkable galaxy pair NGC 1512/10 (HIPASS J0403-43) shows tidal interaction between the large, gas-rich spiral galaxy NGC 1512 and the BCD galaxy NGC 1510. The galaxy centres are separated by approx. 5.0 arcmin. For detailed multi-wavelength studies see Hawarden et al. (1979) and Koribalski & Lopez-Sanchez (2009), published in MNRAS 400, 1749 or at astro-ph/0908.4128.

NGC 1512: Type = SB(r)ab, optical diameter = 8.9' x 5.6'.
NGC 1510: Type = SA0 pec?, HII BCDG, optical diameter = 1.3' x 0.7'.

Link to NED for NGC 1512, and NGC 1510
Dave Malin's deep optical image of NGC 1510/12
Link to NED Images for NGC 1512, and NGC 1510
2MASS JHK-color composite for NGC 1512 (9.8' x 9.8'), and NGC 1510 (3.2' x 3.2')
GALEX FUV-NUV image of NGC 1512/10
Gravitational Dance: NGC 1512 and NGC 1510
CTIO Ha-R image of NGC 1512/10 (16.8' x 16.8')
NGC 1512/10, SINGG Survey



Multi-color image of the galaxy pair NGC 1512/10 (Koribalski & Lopez-Sanchez 2009) - alternate image here


Abstract.

Here we present HI line and 20-cm radio continuum data of the nearby galaxy pair NGC 1512/1510 as obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). These are complemented by GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer) ultraviolet (UV), SINGG Halphaαand Spitzer mid-infrared images, allowing us to compare the distribution and kinematics of the neutral atomic gas with the locations and ages of the stellar clusters within the system.

For the barred, double-ring galaxy NGC 1512 we find a very large HI disc, about four times its optical diameter, with two pronounced spiral/tidal arms. Both its gas distribution and the distribution of the star-forming regions are affected by gravitational interaction with the neighbouring blue compact dwarf galaxy NGC 1510. While the inner disc of NGC 1512 shows quite regular rotation, deviations are visible along the outer arms and at the position of NGC 1510. From the HI rotation curve of NGC 1512 we estimate a dynamical mass of Mdyn > 3 times 1011 Msun, compared to an HI mass of MHI = 5.7 times 109 Msun (2% Mdyn).

The two most distant HI clumps, at radii of about 80 kpc, show signs of star formation (SF) and are likely tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs). Both lie along an extrapolation of the eastern-most HI arm, with the most compact HI cloud located at the tip of the arm.

The 20-cm radio continuum map indicates extended SF activity not only in the central regions of both galaxies but also in between them. SF in the outer disc of NGC 1512 is revealed by deep optical- and two-colour UV images. Using the latter we determine the properties of >200 stellar clusters and explore their correlation with dense HI clumps in the even larger 2X-HI disc. Outside the inner star-forming ring of NGC 1512, which must contain a large reservoir of molecular gas, HI turns out to be an excellent tracer of SF activity.

The multi-wavelength analysis of the NGC 1512/1510 system, which is probably in the first stages of a minor merger having started about 400 Myr ago, links stellar and gaseous galaxy properties on scales from 1 to 100 kpc.

Koribalski & Lopez-Sanchez 2009 (MNRAS 400, 1749)



Original: B. Koribalski (11-Nov-2005)
Modified: B. Koribalski (22-Mar-2010)


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