THE EXTENDED HALO OF A DWARF GALAXY

ESO Press Photo 34/96; 1 August 1996

This photo is a reproduction from a combination of two CCD frames observed with the 3.5-m New Technology Telescope (NTT) and the ESO Multi-Mode Instrument (EMMI). The field covers an area of approx. 7.8 x 11.5 arcmin.

In the lower part is seen the WLM dwarf galaxy , fully resolved into individual stars. From these observations, this galaxy has now been found to possess an extended halo of which many stars can be perceived in the upper part of the field. A few background galaxies that are unrelated to WLM are also visible. At the distance of WLM , about 3 million light years, the field corresponds to a projected area of about 10,000 x 6,000 light years.

The frames were observed in the near-infrared I-band and each exposure lasted about 45 minutes. The seeing was about 0.9 arcsec, and the faintest stars that are visible have an I-band magnitude of 24. In this reproduction, North is to the left and East is down.

This is the caption to ESO PR Photo 34/96 [GIF, 176k] which accompanies ESO Press Release 11/96. It may be reproduced, if credit is given to the European Southern Observatory.