Start Over

The Phoenix galaxy as seen by NuSTAR

Authors :: Masini, A.
Comastri, A.
Puccetti, S.
Baloković, M.
Gandhi, P.
Guainazzi, M.
Bauer, F. E.
Boggs, S. E.
Boorman, P. G.
Brightman, M.
Christensen, F. E.
Craig, W. W.
Farrah, D.
Hailey, C. J.
Harrison, F. A.
Koss, M. J.
LaMassa, S. M.
Ricci, C.
Stern, D.
Walton, D. J.
Zhang, W. W.
Source :: A&A 597, A100 (2017)
Publication Year :: 2016
Abstract: Aims. We study the long-term variability of the well-known Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 1210 (a.k.a. UGC 4203, or the Phoenix galaxy). Methods. The source was observed by many X-ray facilities in the last 20 years. Here we present a NuSTAR observation and put the results in context of previously published observations. Results. NuSTAR observed Mrk 1210 in 2012 for 15.4 ks. The source showed Compton-thin obscuration similar to that observed by Chandra, Suzaku, BeppoSAX and XMM-Newton over the past two decades, but different from the first observation by ASCA in 1995, in which the active nucleus was caught in a low flux state - or obscured by Compton-thick matter, with a reflection-dominated spectrum. Thanks to the high-quality hard X-ray spectrum obtained with NuSTAR and exploiting the long-term spectral coverage spanning 16.9 years, we can precisely disentangle the transmission and reflection components and put constraints on both the intrinsic long-term variability and hidden nucleus scenarios. In the former case, the distance between the reflector and the source must be at least ~ 2 pc, while in the latter one the eclipsing cloud may be identified with a water maser-emitting clump.<br />Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A