Three quasars near the spiral arms of NGC 1073

Abstract

Spectra of three quasars discovered within an area of 12 sq arcmin centered on the spiral galaxy NGC 1073 are analyzed. It is found that each quasar has its most prominent emission line at nearly the same wavelength in the region observed, that each of these lines is associated with a different major quasar line, and that the three quasars have different redshifts. An upper limit of one in a thousand is placed on the probability of chance occurrence. Possible interactions of the quasars with the galaxy are considered, the distribution of quasars associated with late-type spirals is discussed in terms of the ejection hypothesis, and the discovery of a quasar at the edge of the disk of the late-type spiral NGC 4395 is reported. It is noted that NGC 1073 is a companion to the bright Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068, that NGC 1068 is near the center of a tight group containing three faint companions in addition to NGC 1073, and that two of these three additional companions also have an associated quasar.