Fairall 9

Right ascension:    1:21:51.2   Magnitude:  13.2
    Declination:  -59:03:59

Image:  SWP 14157
 Date:  1981 Jun 2 6:26 UT

Exposure duration:  30 min x 3 exposures offset in large aperture

Fairall 9 shows a typical Seyfert galaxy spectrum: a strong non-stellar continuum with broad emission lines (Lyman alpha, N V, Si IV, and C IV) are present). The continuum is likely produced by a very hot accretion disk surrounding a postulated supermassive black hole (about 100 million solar masses) near the galaxy's center. The emission lines are also produced in the accretion disk, and are broadened by rotational Doppler effects as the gas moves around the central continuum source. The width of the lines suggests velocities as high as ten percent of the speed of light, supporting the model of an extremely massive but compact central object around which the gas moves.

Last updated: 08 April 1998
Obtained from IUE project at Goddard Space Flight Center