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Abstract: I will present new results from
MeerKAT commissioning observations of the Fornax galaxy cluster. In
preparation for the upcoming MeerKAT Fornax Survey, we have observed
the cluster centre and the giant merger remnant Fornax A (NGC
1316). We detect 14 times more HI emission in Fornax A than previous
observations. HI is observed at a variety of scales, from the galaxy
centre to its large scale environment. The new HI has constrained the
merger history of Fornax A and is consistent with a 10:1 merger ~ 3
Gyr ago, between a dominant, gas-poor early-type galaxy and a smaller,
gas-rich spiral. One particular feature that I will describe in
detail, is a 2 kpc long multi-phase gas filament, located along a
bridge of the two giant (AGN emission) radio lobes. The filament has
components of ionised gas, cool gas and dust. It is currently in
contention whether the filament is related to star formation or rather
to the interaction of the interstellar medium with (or the cooling of)
hot plasma associated with the AGN activity.
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