NICMOS Imaging of the Nuclei of the CfA Seyfert 2s

Pogge, R.W., Martini, P., and An, J. 1998, BAAS, 193, 6.04

We have observed the central regions of the Seyfert 1.8, 1.9 and 2 galaxies in the volume-limited CfA Seyfert sample with the NICMOS Camera 1 on the Hubble Space Telescope. The F110W (J) and F160W (H) filter images show a gradual weakening of the nuclear point source from the 1.8s, which all show strong, dominant nuclear point sources, to the 2s, which have only weak central point sources often difficult to distinguish from the underlying galaxy. Two notable exceptions to this progression are NGC 4388 and NGC 7674, which are also the only two Seyfert 2s in this sample that have broad emission lines in scattered light. Obvious nuclear bars do not appear in more than two of the 22 objects in this sample, confirming previous results that have suggested that while such bars might play a role in fueling nuclear activity in these objects, they are not ubiquitous.