1996/07/02 by A. A. Zijlstra, Albert A. Zijlstra, J. R. Walsh +2
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9607005
4 pages in postscript, 2 figures available on request. Accepted for publication in Astron. Astroph. (Letters)
arxiv created 1996/07/02 · openalex publication_date 1996/07/02 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Two planetary nebulae are shown to belong to the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, on the basis of their radial velocities. This is only the second dwarf spheroidal galaxy, after Fornax, found to contain planetary nebulae. Their existence confirms that this galaxy is at least as massive as the Fornax dwarf spheroidal which has a single planetary nebula, and suggests a mass of a few times 10**7 solar masses. The two planetary nebulae are located along the major axis of the galaxy, near the base of the tidal tail. There is a further candidate, situated at a very large distance along the direction of the tidal tail, for which no velocity measurement is available. The location of the planetary nebulae and globular clusters of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy suggests that a significant fraction of its mass is contained within the tidal tail.