SDSS J103913.70+533029.7: A Super Star Cluster in the Outskirts of a Galaxy Merger
/ Authors
G. Knapp, C. Tremonti, C. Rockosi, D. Schlegel, B. Yanny, T. Beers, C. Allende Prieto, R. Wilhelm, R. Lupton, J. Gunn
and 21 more authors
M. Niederste-Ostholt, D. Schneider, K. Covey, A. Seth, Ž. Ivezić, D. Eisenstein, J. Helmboldt, D. Finkbeiner, N. Padmanabhan, S. Kleinman, D. Long, S. Snedden, A. Nitta, M. Harvanek, J. Krzesinski, H. Brewington, J. Barentine, P. Newman, Eric H. Nielsen, Jr., M. Fukugita, J. Brinkmann
/ Abstract
We describe the serendipitous discovery in the spectroscopic data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey of a starlike object, SDSS J103913.70+533029.7, at a heliocentric radial velocity of +1012 km s-1. Its proximity in position and velocity to the spiral galaxy NGC 3310 suggests an association with the galaxy. At this distance, SDSS J103913.70+533029.7 has the luminosity of a super star cluster and a projected distance of 17 kpc from NGC 3310. Its spectroscopic and photometric properties imply a mass of >106 M⊙ and an age close to that of the tidal shells seen around NGC 3310, suggesting that it formed in the event that formed the shells.
Journal: The Astronomical Journal
DOI: 10.1086/499304