tbe International AGN Watch, an informal consortium of over 100 astronomers, was established to coordinate multiwavelength monitoring of a limited number of active galactic nuclei ' and thus obtain comprehensive continuum and emission-tine variability data with unprecedented temporal and wavelength coverage. In this review, we summarize the principal scientific results from two completed space-...

We report the results of a spectropolarimetric survey of the CfA and 12μm samples of Seyfert 2 galaxies (S2s). Polarized (hidden) broad line regions (HBLRs) are confirmed in a number of galaxies, and several new cases (F02581–1136, MCG -3-58-7, NGC 5995, NGC 6552, NGC 7682) are reported. The 12μm S2 sample shows a significantly higher incidence of HBLR (50%) than its CfA counterpart (30%), sugg...

From a rediscussion of Local Group membership, and of distances to individual galaxies, we obtain MV values for 35 probable and possible Local Group members. The luminosity function of these objects is well fitted by a Schechter function with faint end slope α = −1.1 ± 0.1. The probability that the luminosity distribution of the Local Group is a single Schechter function with α steeper than −1....

Far Infrared observations of the Seyfert galaxies NGC 3227, NGC 4051 and NGC 4151 are presented. These are the first data from a complete sample of Seyfert galaxies that is being observed by ISO as part of the ISOPHOT guaranteed time. The new ISO data, in combination with the IRAS data, show that the mid to far IR emission in all three objects can be ascribed to two well defined regimes, namely...

We report on the discovery of three new dwarf galaxies in the Local Group. These galaxies are found in new CFHT/MegaPrime g, i imaging of the southwestern quadrant of M31, extending our extant survey area to include the majority of the southern hemisphere of M31’s halo out to 150 kpc. All these galaxies have stellar populations which appear typical of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) systems. The first ...

Globular cluster systems of 17 elliptical galaxies have been studied in the Coma cluster of galaxies. Surface-brightness fluctuations have been used to determine total populations of globular clusters and specific frequency (S N) has been evaluated for each individual galaxy. Enormous differences in S N between similar galaxies are found. In particular, S N results vary by an order of magnitude...

Abstract. An imaging survey of CO(1−0), HCN(1−0), and HCO(1−0) lines in the centers of nearby Seyfert galaxies has been conducted using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array and the RAINBOW interferometer. Preliminary results reveal that 3 Seyferts out of 7 show abnormally high HCN/CO and HCN/HCO ratios, which cannot occur even in nuclear starburst galaxies. We suggest that the enhanced HCN emission or...

The formation of elliptical galaxies via the merger of gas-rich disks has received considerable attention in recent years, with many studies strongly supporting the merger hypothesis. When investigated in detail, the dynamics of a major merger that produces a high phase-space density of material (e.g., the center of an elliptical galaxy) invariably produces the ubiquitous signature of a central...

Recent ultraviolet and X-ray observations suggest that the Fe/O ratio in the NLR gas in NGC 1068 is abnormally high. The X-ray analysis, which is presented elsewhere, suggests a large Fe/H and the data shown and discussed here, in particular the extremely weak O iii]λ1663 line, argue for small O/N and O/C. Models to support this claim are shown and discussed. They include improved reddening est...

Most clusters and groups of galaxies contain a giant elliptical galaxy in their centres which far outshines and outweighs normal ellipticals. The origin of these brightest cluster galaxies is intimately related to the collapse and formation of the cluster. Using a large cosmological N-body simulation of cluster collapse, we show how hierarchical merging naturally produces a giant, central ellip...