Photometric structure of the peculiar galaxy ESO 235-G58

¹ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte (OAC), via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
² INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino, Strada Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese, Italy
³ Dept. of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, 475 N. Charter St., Madison, WI, USA
⁴ University of Alabama, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Box 870324, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, USA
⁵ RSAA, Mt. Stromlo Observatory, Canberra, Cotter Road, Weston ACT 2611, Australia
⁶ Dept. of Physical Sciences, University “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

Corresponding author: E. Iodice, iodice@na.astro.it

Received: 26 June 2003
Accepted: 20 January 2004

Abstract

We present the near-infrared and optical properties of the peculiar galaxy ESO 235-G58, which resembles a late-type ringed barred spiral seen close to face-on. However, the apparent bar of ESO 235-G58 is in reality an edge-on disk galaxy of relatively low luminosity. We have analyzed the light and color distributions of ESO 235-G58 in the NIR and optical bands and compared them with the typical properties observed for other morphological galaxy types, including polar ring galaxies. Similar properties are observed for ESO 235-G58, polar ring galaxies, and spiral galaxies, which leads us to conclude that this peculiar system is a polar-ring-related galaxy, characterized by a low inclined ring/disk structure, as pointed out by Buta & Crocker in an earlier study, rather than a barred galaxy.