ALBERT

Description: The central 5 kpc of the ultra-luminous merging galaxy NGC 3256 was mapped at J, H, K, L, and 10 micrometer, and a 2 micrometer spectra of the nuclear region was obtained. This data was used to identify and characterize the super starburst which has apparently been triggered and fuelled by the merger of two gas rich galaxies. It is also shown that the old stellar population has relaxed into a single spheroidal system, and that a supernova driven wind might eventually drive any remaining gas from the system to leave a relic which will be indistinguishable from an elliptical galaxy.

Description: Four distinct X-ray sources have been detected by the Einstein Observatory imaging proportional counter in the 2A2315-428 field. The strongest source in the 0.2-3.8 keV band is associated with the Sersic 159-03 cluster, which contains a cD galaxy, and may account for as much as 40% of the observed 2A flux. The rest of the flux is suspected to issue from the weaker but more heavily cut-off galaxy NGC 7582. It is suggested that such a large X-ray absorption column density in NGC 7582 may account for the absence of a broad H-alpha emission component, as has been observed in other narrow-line X-ray galaxies. The weak X-ray flux from NGC 7552 shows together with a reanalysis of previous observations, that the source is not variable, that its X-ray emission is not likely to result from a compact nucleus, and that it may be a starburst galaxy.

Description: Calculated late-time spectra of two classical hydrodynamical models for Type Ia supernovae (deflagration model W7 of Nomoto, Thielemann, & Yokoi, and delayed detonation model DD4 of Woosley & Weaver) are compared with observations of SN 1992A and other spectroscopically normal SNe Ia. An important new piece of information is provided by observations done with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) which cover the ultraviolet range at the nebular phase of a SN Ia: SN 1992A in NGC 1380. For the first time a picture of SN Ia emission from the ultraviolet through the optical is obtained at these phases. Predictions of the classical model (W7 and DD4) are compared with the observed spectrum of SN 1992A and with the optical spectra of SN 1989M in NGC 4579 and SN 1990N in NGC 4639 at similar epochs. The absolute B and V magnitudes of the models are also estimated at these late phases. Taken at face value the nebular spectra of these 'classical' models are more consistent with the long extragalactic distance scale, pointing to distances to NGC 4579 around 21 +/- 3 Mpc and a slightly larger distance, 22 +/- 3 Mpc, to NGC 4639, on the back side of the Virgo Cluster. However, the calculated Fe(+3) luminosity as predicted from the models exceeds the observed limit from the HST data of SN 1992A. Other differences in the ratios of the line intensities between calculated and observed spectra, show some disagreement with the observed spectra at the nebular phases. They may not be the best choice for spectroscopically normal SNe Ia, and their use as an independent calibration of the extragalactic distance scale should be viewed with caution.

Description: We report extensive optical photometry and spectroscopy of the Type Ia supernova 1989B. Maximum light in B occurred approximately seven days after discovery on JD 2447565.3 +/- 1.0 (1989 February 7.8 +/- 1.0) at a magnitude of 12.34 +/- 0.05. The UBV light curves of this supernova were very similar to those of other well observed Type Ia events such as SN 1981B and SN 1980N. From a comparison of the UBVRIJHK photometry, we derive an extinction for SN 1989B of E(B-V) = 0.37 +/- 0.03 mags relative to the unobscured Type Ia SN 1980N. The properties of the dust responsible for the reddening of SN 1989B appear to have been similar to those of normal dust in the Milky Way. In particular, we find no evidence for an unusually low value of the ratio of the total to selective absorption. We derive a distance modulus of delta mu(sub 0) = -1.62 +/- 0.03 mag relative to the Type Ia SN 1980N. We present optical spectra which provide essentially continuous coverage of the spectral evolution of SN 1989B over the first month following B maximum. These data show the transition from the maximum-light spectrum, in which lines of elements such as Ca, Si, S, Mg, and O are most prominent, to the Fe-dominated spectrum observed a few weeks after maximum. This transition occurred quite smoothly over a two-week period following B maximum. Comparison of the spectra of SN 1989B with data for two other well observed Type Ia supernovae -- 1981B and 1986G -- reveals subtle differences in the relative strengths of the S II and Si II absorption lines at maximum light. However, these differences disappeared within a week or so after maximum with the onset of the Fe-dominated phase.