TABLE XVII

TypeDiameter in Parsecs
ObsCal.
E0360340
E1430380
E2500430
E3590490
E4700570
E5810680
E6960850
E711301130
TypeDiameter in Parsecs
Sa1450
Sb1900
Sc2500
SBa1280
SBb1320
SBc2250
Irr1500

MASSES OF EXTRA-GALACTIC NEBULAE

Spectroscopic rotations are available for the spirals M 31[20] and N.G.C. 4594,[21] and from these it is possible to estimate the masses on the assumption of orbital rotation around the nucleus. The distances of the nebulae are involved, however, and this is known accurately only for M 31; for N.G.C. 4594 it must be estimated from the apparent luminosity.

Another method of estimating masses is that used by Öpik[22] in deriving his estimate of the distance of M 31. It is based on the assumption that luminous material in the spirals has about the same coefficient of emission as the material in the galactic system. Öpik computed the ratio of luminosity to mass for our own system in terms of the sun as unity, using Jeans’s value[23] for the relative proportion of luminous to non-luminous material. The relation is

Mass = 2.6 L.(9)

The application of this method of determining orders of masses seems to be justified, at least in the case of the later-type spirals and irregular nebulae, by the many analogies with the galactic system itself. Moreover, when applied to M 31, where the distance is fairly well known, it leads to a mass of the same order as that derived from the spectrographic rotation:

MASS OF M 31

Spectrographic rotation3.5×109
Öpik’s method1.6×109