The Ophiuchus cluster - A bright X-ray cluster of galaxies at low galactic latitude
The discovery of an extended X-ray source identified with a cluster of galaxies at low galactic latitude is reported. The source, designated the Ophiuchus cluster, was detected near 4U 1708-23 with the HEAO 1 Scanning Modulation Collimator, and identified with the cluster on the basis of extended X-ray size and positional coincidence on the ESO/SRC (J) plate of the region. An X-ray flux density in the region 2-10 keV of approximately 25 microJ was measured, along with an X-ray luminosity of 1.6 x 10 to the 45th ergs/sec and an X-ray core radius of approximately 4 arcmin (0.2 Mpc) for an assumed isothermal sphere surface brightness distribution. The X-ray spectrum in the range 2-10 keV obtained with the HEAO 1 A-2 instrument is well fit by a thermal bremsstrahlung model with kT = 8 keV and a 6.7-keV iron line of equivalent width 450 eV. The steep-spectrum radio source MSH 17-203 also appears to be associated with the cluster, which is the closest and brightest representative of the class of X-ray clusters with a dominant central galaxy.