Herschel -SPIRE observations of the disturbed galaxy NGC 4438

Abstract

We present Herschel-SPIRE observations of the perturbed galaxy NGC 4438 in the Virgo cluster. These images reveal the presence of extra-planar dust up to ∼4-5 kpc away from the galaxy's disk. The dust closely follows the distribution of the stripped atomic and molecular hydrogen, supporting the idea that gas and dust are perturbed in a similar fashion by the cluster environment. Interestingly, the extra-planar dust lacks a warm temperature component when compared to the material still present in the disk, explaining why it was missed by previous far-infrared investigations. Our study provides evidence for dust stripping in clusters of galaxies and illustrates the potential of Herschel data for our understanding of environmental effects on galaxy evolution. © ESO 2010.