adopt the conversion from LFIR to the limited angular resolution would have Fassia, A., Meikle, W. P. S., Vacca, W. D., et SN rate given in Mattila & Meikle (2001), prevented us to disentangle them from al., 2000, MNRAS, 318, 1093. –12 –1 i.e. SNr 2.7 × 10 (LFlR/L) yr , we the peaked nuclear surface brightness Genzel, R., Lutz, D., Sturm, E., et al., 1998, find that our survey has missed about of the host galaxies. ApJ, 498, 579. 80% of the expected SNe. This can be Hamuy, M., Pinto, P. A., Maza, J., et al., explained if most of the SNe are so em- 2001, ApJ, 558, 615. bedded in dust that they are signifi- References Mattila & Meikle 2001. Rieke G.H. & Low F.J. 1972, ApJ 176, L95. cantly obscured even in the near-IR or, Soifer, B.T., Neugebauer, G., Matthews, K., alternatively, obscured AGNs may con- Barbon, R., Benetti, S., Rosino, L., Cappel- laro, E., & Turatto, M., 1990, A&A, 237, et al., 2001, ApJ, 559, 201. tribute substantially (~ 80%) to the van Buren, D., & Norman, C.A., 1989, ApJ, far-IR luminosity of these galaxies. 79. Cappellaro, E., Evans, R., & Turatto, M., 336, L67. Finally, there is growing evidence that 1999, A&A, 351, 459. van Buren, D., Jarrett, T., Terebey, S., most of the starburst activity is located Danziger, I.J., Lucy, L.B., Bouchet, P., & Beichman, C., Shure, M., Kaminski, C., in the nuclear region (Soifer et al. Gouiffes, C., 1991, in Supernovae, S.E. 1994, IAUC, 5960, 2. 2001). If most SNe occur in the nucle- Woosley ed. (Springer-Verlag), p. 69. Xu, Y., McCray, R., Oliva, E., & Randich, S., us (i.e. within the central 2″), then our Dwek, E. 1983, ApJ, 274, 175. 1992, A&A, 386, 181.

A Deep Look at an Active Galaxy

The image below shows the pe- and forms a famous triplet of galax- tance is 35 million light-years/11 Mpc. culiar edge-on NGC 3628. ies together with M65 and M66, also NGC 3628 is interesting in several It is situated in the known as the Leo Triplet. Its dis- respects: although classified as a spiral

38 galaxy of type Sbc (like our own Milky the conspicuously blue star-like object events in this conspicuously disturbed, Way galaxy) its massive dust shows just SSW of the diffuse patch that ex- nearby galaxy. disturbances, possibly as a conse- tends more or less along the minor axis Technical information: The colour im- quence of the fairly close proximity of of the main galaxy, is not a star but an age was composed from five individual the two other members of the Triplet. X-ray emitting quasar at a z = exposures through Bessel B, V, R and I Furthermore, there seems to be a 0.995. broadband filters. Exposure times were lot of star formation going on, as one Of special interest in this picture is an 120 + 600 sec in B, 300 sec in V, 600 can see in the upper right corner of the elongated low-surface-brightness fea- sec in R and 600 sec in I. They were image, where numerous star-forming ture that seems to emerge along the taken with FORS2 during the com- regions with young massive blue stars minor axis of the large active galaxy. It missioning period in February 2000 and are visible. The box-like bulge of this appears to be part of a chain of objects retrieved from the ESO Science Ar- galaxy (visible at the top of the image) that coincides very exactly with an X- chive. The seeing on the different is also remarkable and could indicate ray filament associated with ejection of frames was between 0.64 and 0.8 arc- the presence of a central bar. A number X-ray material from the centre of the sec. The size of the field is 6.8 × 6.8 of globular clusters can be seen as galaxy, as shown by observations with arcmin; north is up, east to the left. Pre- fuzzy reddish spots in the halo of the the ROSAT and, very recently, the processing was done with the FORS galaxy. Chandra satellites. pipeline in Garching. Observations The field around NGC 3628 is rich in The high image quality of FORS2 on were carried out by G. Rupprecht, data very faint galaxies, many of which can VLT/Kueyen enables resolution of the reduction by F. Patat (both ESO/ be seen in this image as slightly diffuse various objects along this optical fea- Garching), image composition by R. objects. Only a few foreground stars ture. A spectroscopic investigation is Hook and R. Fosbury (both ST-ECF), belonging to our own Milky Way are currently under way in order to study astronomical background provided by visible, sharp and point-like. However, their possible physical relationship to H. Arp (MPA). G. RUPPRECHT

Coming Home at Paranal Unique “Residencia” Opens at the VLT Observatory (Taken from the ESO Press Release of 7 February 2002)

Summary Located in the middle of the Atacama er, air and water management, the Desert, the Residencia incorporates a Paranal Residencia has already be- The Paranal Residencia at the ESO small garden and a swimming pool, al- come a symbol of innovative architec- VLT Observatory is now ready and the lowing the inhabitants to retreat from ture in its own right. Constructed with staff and visitors have moved into their time to time from the harsh outside en- robust, but inexpensive materials, it is new home. vironment. an impressively elegant and utilitarian This major architectural project has Returning from long shifts at the VLT counterpart to the VLT high-tech facili- the form of a unique subterranean con- and other installations on the mountain, ties poised some two hundred metres struction with a facade opening towards here they can breath moist air and re- above, on the top of the mountain. the Pacific Ocean, far below at a dis- ceive invigorating sensory impressions. Ever since the construction of the tance of about 12 km. Natural daylight With great originality of the design, it ESO VLT at Paranal began in 1991, is brought into the building through a has been possible to create an interior staff and visitors have resided in 35-m wide glass-covered dome, a rec- with a feeling of open space – this is a cramped containers in the “Base tangular courtyard roof and various true “home in the desert”. Camp”. This is one of driest and most skylight hatches. Moreover, with strict ecological pow- inhospitable areas in the Chilean

This photo shows the Residencia, looking towards west. The linear construction used to fill the natural depression of the ground in this area is evident. The 35-m central dome protrudes from the “filled-in” valley. Photo: Massimo Tarenghi.

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