3C 17 is a broad-line radio galaxy that also shows strong indications
of interaction with its environment. The kiloparsec-scale radio
morphology of 3C 17 is dominated by a single-sided, dramatically
curved jet described by Morganti et al. (1999). The images above were
obtained with the Gemini Multi Object Spectrograph. The blue contours
show the 5 GHz VLA map kindly provided by Raffaella Morganti.
Galaxies selected for spectroscopy are labeled with their slit
number. Medium-resolution spectra were obtained for 39 objects in the
field of the radio galaxy 3C 17. With the new Gemini spectra we were
able to determine that 3C 17 is the Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG) of a
previously uncataloged cluster that we identify at a mean redshift of
z=0.220. The discovery of a cluster of galaxies around 3C 17 better
explains the sharply bent morphology of the radio jet given that it
propagates through a dense intracluster medium.
The full results
are published in
the Astrophysical Journal Supplement.
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