The Extinction and Distance of Maffei 1

Abstract

We have obtained low- and high-resolution spectra of the core of the highly-reddened elliptical galaxy Maffei 1. From these data, we have obtained the first measurement of the Mg2 index, and have measured the velocity dispersion and radial velocity with improved accuracy. To evaluate the extinction, a correlation between the Mg2 index and effective V-I colour has been established for elliptical galaxies. Using a new method for correcting for effective wavelength shifts, we find A_V = 4.67 +/- 0.19 mag, which is lower by 0.4 mag than previously thought. To establish the distance, the Fundamental Plane for elliptical galaxies has been constructed in I. The velocity dispersion of Maffei 1, measured to be 186.8 +/- 7.4 km/s, in combination with modern wide-field photometry in I, leads to a distance of 2.92 +/- 0.37 Mpc. The Dn-sigma relation, which is independently calibrated, gives 3.08 +/- 0.85 Mpc and 3.23 +/- 0.67 Mpc from photometry in B and K`, respectively. The weighted mean of the three estimates is 3.01 +/- 0.30 Mpc. The distance and luminosity make Maffei 1 the nearest giant elliptical galaxy. The radial velocity of Maffei 1 is +66.4 +/- 5.0 km/s, significantly higher than the accepted value of -10 km/s. The Hubble distance corresponding to the mean velocity of Maffei 1, Maffei 2 and IC342 is 3.5 Mpc. Thus, it is unlikely that Maffei 1 has had any influence on Local Group dynamics.

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Cited by in corpus (19)

• An H-alpha Imaging Survey of Galaxies in the Local 11 Mpc Volume
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• A Council of Giants
• Infrared Properties of Star Forming Dwarf Galaxies: I. Dwarf Irregular Galaxies in the Local Volume
• Luminosity functions of LMXBs in different stellar environments
• Nuclear Bar Catalyzed Star Formation: 13^CO, C18^O and Molecular Gas Properties in the Nucleus of Maffei 2
• More galaxies in the Local Volume imaged in H-alpha
• The quest for cradles of life: using the fundamental metallicity relation to hunt for the most habitable type of galaxy
• The Extinction and Distance of Maffei 2 and a New View of the IC 342/Maffei Group
• The highly obscured region around PKS1343-601 - I. Galactic interstellar extinctions using DENIS galaxy colours
• Planar distribution of the galaxies in the Local Group: a statistical and dynamical analysis
• Search for high energy γ-ray emission from galaxies of the Local Group with Fermi/LAT
• The Distance and Motion of the Maffei Group
• Distance to the galaxy IC 342
• Light and Motion in the Local Volume
• Raven and the Center of Maffei 1: Multi-Object Adaptive Optics Observations of the Center of a Nearby Elliptical Galaxy and the Detection of an Intermediate Age Population
• The Globular Cluster Content of Maffei 1
• Detecting cold H2 globules in the outer Galactic disc by microlensing towards the Maffei 1 elliptical