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C. Krall (Boston College), J. G. Funes (Vatican Observatory)
In order to study the ionized-gas distribution and star formation properties in elliptical galaxies with dust lanes we have started an observational program aimed at obtaining H-alpha and UBR images. With NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) as a prototype, this class of galaxies is characterized by a dust lane silhouetted against the stellar body. These objects are active galaxies with powerful radio sources. In some of them, the mass of the supermassive black hole has been determined. It appears that these galaxies have undergone a major merger event at some point in their evolution. In this work we present H-alpha and UBR images of six galaxies with a dust lane along the minor axis. Our preliminary analysis of the H-alpha images shows that the observed galaxies have a disk of ionized gas. In the case of NGC 5363, a spiral structure is clearly observed in a disk with intense star formation. The H-alpha image of NGC 7625 (Arp 212) shows a clear picture of a merger event taking place.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.