| Abstract | The paper presents neutral-hydrogen observations of the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 1569 with a spatial resolution of 1.9 x 2.1 arcmin and a velocity resolution of 16 km/s. The galaxy has prominent H(alpha) filaments which were thought to originate from an explosion in the nucleus; the present observations reveal that the overall H I distribution is that expected of a disk in normal rotation, although several unusual features appear. No correspondence is found between the velocity fields of the H I and H(alpha), the latter being chaotic and displaying a general velocity gradient perpendicular to the major axis. There are similarities between NGC 1569 and M82, and it is suggested that many features of NGC 1569 are due to the galaxy having drifted into a tenous cloud of dust and gas as shown for M82. |
