SIMBAD references

FCC046 is a Fornax Cluster dwarf elliptical galaxy. Optical observations have shown that this galaxy, besides an old and metal-poor stellar population, also contains a very young centrally concentrated population and is actively forming stars, albeit at a very low level. Here, we report on 21 cm observations of FCC046 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array which we conducted in the course of a small survey of Fornax Cluster early-type dwarf galaxies. We have discovered a ∼10⁷ M_☉ H I cloud surrounding FCC046. We show that the presence of this significant gas reservoir offers a concise explanation for this galaxy's optical morphological and kinematical properties. Surprisingly, the H I gas, as evidenced by its morphology and its rotational motion around the galaxy's optical major axis, is kinematically decoupled from the galaxy's stellar body. This is the first time such a ring of gaseous material in minor-axis rotation is discovered around a dwarf galaxy.