The nebulosity around 3C 48

Abstract

Results are reported for spectrophotometric measurements of the nebulosity around the quasar 3C 48 which were made with an image-tube scanner on a 3-m telescope. The forbidden emission lines of O III (5007 and 4959 A), Ne III (3869 A), and O II (3727 A) are detected in the nebulosity north of the quasar nucleus and are found to be narrower than those present in the nucleus, but with larger equivalent widths and a slightly larger redshift. No emission lines are detected south of the nucleus, and the continuum on the north is shown to be dominated by scattered continuum radiation from the central quasar. It is suggested that the hot gas responsible for the emission lines may be either part of a shell or disk rotating about the quasar or gas ejected from it.