DISCOVERY AND FOLLOW-UP OF A NEARBY GALAXY FROM THE ARECIBO ZONE OF AVOIDANCE SURVEY

The Arecibo L-Band Feed Array Zone of Avoidance (ALFA ZOA) Survey has discovered a nearby galaxy, ALFA ZOA J1952+1428, at a heliocentric velocity of +279 km s(-1). The galaxy was discovered at low Galactic latitude by 21 cm emission from neutral hydrogen (H-I). We have obtained follow-up observations with the Expanded Very Large Array and the 0.9 m Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy optical telescope. The Hi distribution overlaps an uncataloged, potential optical counterpart. The H-I linear size is 1.4 kpc at our adopted distance of D = 7 Mpc, but the distance estimate is uncertain as Hubble's law is unreliable at low recessional velocities. The optical counterpart has m(B) = 16.9 mag and B - R = 0.1 mag. These characteristics, including M-HI = 10(7.0) M-circle dot and L-B = 10(7.5) L-circle dot, if at 7 Mpc, indicate that this galaxy is a blue compact dwarf, but this remains uncertain until further follow-up observations are complete. Optical follow-up observations are ongoing and near-infrared follow-up observations have been scheduled.