An optical velocity for the Phoenix dwarf galaxy

We present the results of a Very Large Telescope observing programme carried out in service mode using FORS1 on ANTU in long-slit mode to determine the optical velocities of nearby low surface brightness galaxies. As part of our programme of service observations we obtained long-slit spectra of several members of the Phoenix dwarf galaxy from which we derive an optical heliocentric radial velocity of-13 +/- 9 km s(-1) . This agrees very well with the velocity of the most promising of the H i clouds seen around Phoenix, which has a heliocentric velocity of -23 km s(-1) , but is significantly different from the recently published optical heliocentric velocity of Phoenix of -52 +/- 6km s(-1) by Gallart et al.