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We present preliminary results of the reduction and analyses of the WFPC2 PC HST snapshot images of the 3CR catalog. The observations are done with a wide R filter (F702W) and typically use a 300 sec. exposure time. We get a resolution of 0.05"/pixel.
At the moment we have obtained images of 160 radio sources, spanning a redshift range from 3C257 at a redshift of 2.474 to 3C272.1 at a redshift of 0.0031. The observations are still ongoing. We already have images which clearly show dust-lanes out to redshifts of 0.3, optical jets in nearby low luminosity sources, evidence for interaction at all redshifts, "fuzz" around higher redshift quasars, and emission that could be associated with jets/hotspots in powerful sources. Possible companion galaxies and associated clusters are seen in several of the high (z$>$1) redshift galaxies.
The 3CR sample spans a wide range in redshift, including 89 sources at redshifts higher than one, as well as 84 sources at redshifts less than 0.1. The 3CR is extremely well studied. Thus, we have an excellent pre-existing database for correlation studies between the optical properties and observations at other wavelenghts, from the radio to the X-ray.
The issues we want to adress with this project are: What are the host galaxy morphologies- are there differences between FR-I and FR-II sources, nuclear cusps, tidal tails? How common are optical jets? Do optical continuum and radio structure align and is there detailed morphological correspondence? How common are dust-lanes and nuclear dust-discs, what is there orientation relative to the radio axis? Is there evidence that the high redhift sources are merging systems?
