Dust in an extragalactic environment : The case of NGC 2907

Abstract

We have carried out a detailed CCD surface photometric analysis of the lenticular galaxy NGC 2907, containing multiple dust lanes, with the objective of studying properties of dust in an extragalactic environment. Measurements of extinction in the optical B, V, R, and I bands indicate that the wavelength dependence of dust extinction is similar to that of the Milky Way. However, the Rv value for NGC 2907 turns out to be smaller than the canonical Galactic value of 3.1, suggesting that the dust grains responsible for the optical extinction are smaller than that in the Milky Way.