A comprehensive observational study of the young barred galaxy NGC 3359

Rozas, M.; Zurita, A.; Beckman, J. E.
Bibliographical reference

Astrophysics and Space Science, v. 276, Issue 2/4, p. 1179-1188 (2001).

Advertised on:
2001
Number of authors
3
IAC number of authors
3
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
We combine H_α and broad-band optical imaging and H_α velocity mapping over the face of the barred galaxy NGC 3359, obtained within the BARS programme on the Canary Island telescopes (Lourenso and Beckman, these proceedings). From the H_α image we have determined the positions, fluxes and diameters of a total of 547 HII regions, and computed their luminosity function whose slope is within the range of those of morphologically similar galaxies found in the literature. We have gone on to quantify other statistical properties, such as the diameter distribution and the flux densities of the regions. Using Fabry-Perot mapping in H_α with the TAURUS II instrument, we have produced maps of velocity and velocity dispersion, and computed the rotation curve out to ~ 3 scale lengths from the centre of the galaxy. From the map of the residual velocities we detected streaming motions in the gas across the spiral arms and the presence of non-circular motions of order 30-40 km s^-1 around the bar: the gas response to the gravitational potential.