| Abstract | The Cambridge Half-Mile telescope has been used in conjunction with a I 6o-channel cross-correlation receiver to map the neutral hydrogen emission in NGC 3077 with a synthesized beam of width 1 `.5>< I ` 6. The H I distribution is found to be severely distorted, with the projected centroid lying about 4 kpc SE of the optical centre in a region where star formation may be occurring, and a streamer of H I extending 10 kpc northwards. The observed H I mass is 4 I X I o M0 of which a quarter is in the streamer. A small gradient of radial velocity exists across the galaxy which, if interpreted as rotation, suggests an indicative mass of (612) x I0 M0. A computer model is proposed to explain the distorted H I distribution in terms of tidal forces exerted during a close (12 kpc) encounter between NGC 3077 and M81, (2 to 6) x I0 yr ago. |
