Ultraviolet Observations of NGC 205
Bertola, Francesco; Wilcots, Eric M.; Hodge, Paul; Eskridge, Paul B.; Buson, Lucio
United States, Italy
Abstract
Low-resolution IUE observations of the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 205 show that the UV spectral energy distribution of the galaxy is relatively flat. Spectra centered on the nucleus and on a region north of the nucleus show evidence of recent "bursts" of star formation which contribute strongly to the UV spectral energy distribution. We fit the UV spectra with a composite spectrum based on a Miller-Scalo initial mass function, an underlying older population (modeled using the UV spectrum of 47 Tuc), and an extinction based on a SMC-like extinction curve. This fit implies that the total mass of young stars (with M >= 1 M_sun_) in the galaxy is ~ 7 x 10^5^ M_sun_, which can be compared to the total mass of Population II stars in the galaxy of ~ 10^8^ M_sun_.