HCG 16: A High Concentration of Active Galaxies in the Nearby Universe
In the course of an extensive campaign to measure radial velocities of galaxies in a selected sample of compact groups photometrically studied by de Carvalho et al. (1994), we report the discovery of a system very rich in starburst galaxies and AGNs. This is the system HCG 16 of Hickson's (1982) catalog of CGs. The 7 brightest galaxies form a kinematical group. From their spectral characteristics, we have identified one Seyfert 2 galaxy, two LINERs and three starburst galaxies. Thus, HCG 16 appears to be a dense concentration of active galaxies. In our sample of 17 Hickson groups, HCG 16 is unique in this regard, suggesting that it is an uncommon structure in the nearby universe.
astro-ph↗