THE X-RAY-PROPERTIES OF THE MERGING GALAXY PAIR NGC-4038 9 - THE ANTENNAE/

We report the results of an X-ray spectral imaging observation of the Antennae with the ROSAT PSPC. 55 per cent of the soft X-ray flux from the system is resolved into discrete sources, including components ide ntified with the galactic nuclei and large Hn regions, whilst the rema inder appears to be predominantly genuinely diffuse emission from gas at a temperature similar to 4 x 10(6)K. The morphology of the emission is unusual, combining a halo which envelops the galactic discs with w hat appears to be a distorted, but well-collimated, bipolar outflow We derive physical parameters for the hot gas in both diffuse components , which are of some interest, given that the Antennae probably represe nts an elliptical galaxy in the making.