| Abstract | Neutral hydrogen observations, in the 21-cm line, of 99 compact galaxies from the lists of Zwicky, Haro, and Markarian were made using the 91- and 305-m telescopes. Most were blue or very blue systems, and 72 were detected. The overall global properties of these systems are found to be in approximately the same range as normal late-type galaxies. At one extreme, however, they may extend to types later than Ir I systems. These systems are typically rich in H I gas, and there are indications that they have large H I halos. It is suggested that H I gas infalling from such halos may provide the fuel for intermittent bursts of rapid star formation and may explain the low metallicity found in some blue compacts. |
