SDSS J103913.70+533029.7: A Super Star Cluster in the Outskirts of a Galaxy Merger
Publication information:
Knapp G, Tremonti C, Rockosi C, Schlegel D, Yanny B, Beers T, Allende Prieto C, Wilhelm R, Lupton R, Gunn J, et al. SDSS J103913.70+533029.7: A Super Star Cluster in the Outskirts of a Galaxy Merger. The Astronomical Journal. 2006;131:859–865.
Abstract
We describe the serendipitous discovery in the spectroscopic data of theSloan Digital Sky Survey of a starlike object, SDSS J103913.70+533029.7,at a heliocentric radial velocity of +1012 km s-1. Itsproximity in position and velocity to the spiral galaxy NGC 3310suggests an association with the galaxy. At this distance, SDSSJ103913.70+533029.7 has the luminosity of a super star cluster and aprojected distance of 17 kpc from NGC 3310. Its spectroscopic andphotometric properties imply a mass of >106Msolar and an age close to that of the tidal shells seenaround NGC 3310, suggesting that it formed in the event that formed theshells.