Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: We present LITTLE THINGS (Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes, The H i Nearby Galaxy Survey), which is aimed at determining what drives star formation in dwarf galaxies. This is a multi-wavelength survey of 37 dwarf irregular and 4 blue compact dwarf galaxies that is centered around H i -line data obtained with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Very Large Array (VLA). The H i -line data are characterized by high sensitivity (⩽1.1 mJy beam −1 per channel), high spectral resolution (⩽2.6 km s −1 ), and high angular resolution (∼6''). The LITTLE THINGS sample contains dwarf galaxies that are relatively nearby (⩽10.3 Mpc; 6'' is ⩽300 pc), that were known to contain atomic hydrogen, the fuel for star formation, and that cover a large range in dwarf galactic properties. We describe our VLA data acquisition, calibration, and mapping procedures, as well as H i map characteristics, and show channel maps, moment maps, velocity–flux profiles, and surface gas density profiles. In addition to the H i data we have GALEX UV and ground-based UBV and Hα images for most of the galaxies, and JHK images for some. Spitzer mid-IR images are available for many of the galaxies as well. These data sets are available online.
Source: The Astronomical Journal
Institutions: Lowell Observatory, University of Hertfordshire, Florida International University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, IBM (United States), IBM Research - Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Georgia State University, The University of Western Australia, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Award: G8081217031
OpenAlex ID: W3037525168