Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
IAUC 6159: NEARBY GALAXIES MB 1 AND MB 2; AL Com
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Circular No. 6159
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Postal Address: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions)
Phone 617-495-7244/7440/7444 TWX 710-320-6842 ASTROGRAM CAM
MARSDEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or GREEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science)
NEARBY GALAXIES MB 1 AND MB 2
M. L. McCall, York University; R. J. Buta, University of
Alabama; and W. K. Huchtmeier, Max-Planck-Institut fur
Radioastronomie; write: "We report on the discovery of two new nearby
galaxies likely to be associated with the heavily-obscured giant
elliptical galaxy Maffei 1. The two galaxies were discovered (by
McCall and Buta) on deep I-band CCD images of a 1 deg field centered
near Maffei 1 and acquired with the Kitt Peak Burrell Schmidt
telescope on 1992 Oct. 25. The larger of the two galaxies (MB 1)
is located at R.A. = 2h31m52s.1, Decl. = +59o09'39".7 (equinox
1950.0), which is only 18' to the southwest of Maffei 1. It is a
late-type spiral (probably Sd) with a strong oval distortion,
possibly as big as 6' across; due to the low apparent surface
brightness, the inclination is uncertain. The smaller of the two
new galaxies (MB 2) is located at R.A. = 2h33m16s.1, Decl. =
+59o01'12".8, which is 25' nearly due south of Maffei 1. It is
probably a dwarf irregular galaxy, the diameter being 1'.4. The
optical observations will appear in the June 1995 issue of the A.J.
MB 1 was detected (by Huchtmeier) at 21 cm with the 100-m Effelsberg
telescope on 1995 Mar. 2; the line is centered on a heliocentric
velocity of 189 +/- 3 km/s, and displays a peak flux of 0.16
+/- 0.01 Jy and an integrated flux of 9.0 Jy km/s. The profile is
nearly gaussian, with full widths of 85, 79, and 60 km/s at 20, 25,
and 50 percent, respectively, of the peak. The radial velocity and
proximity to Maffei 1 on the sky indicate that this object is a
member of a group that is 2 to 4 Mpc distant and is now known to be
composed of 13 galaxies that are dominated by Maffei 1 and IC 342.
For its area, MB 1 is deficient in hydrogen, suggesting that it has
directly interacted with Maffei 1. MB 2 was not detected at 21 cm
over a search band from -500 to +4000 km/s. Weak extragalactic
emission could be hidden within the range of local hydrogen (i.e.,
-140 to +10 km/s) or in an interference zone around 1500 to 1600
km/s. Again, the proximity to Maffei 1 suggests an association with
that galaxy."
AL COMAE BERENICES
Further visual magnitude estimates (cf. IAUC 6155): Apr. 7.22
UT, 12.3 (W. G. Dillon, Missouri City, TX); 8.032, 12.7 (T.
Vanmunster, Landen, Belgium); 8.912, 12.6 (B. H. Granslo, Fjellhamar,
Norway); 9.826, 12.7 (P. Schmeer, Bischmisheim, Germany).
1995 April 11 (6159) Daniel W. E. Green
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