Abstract
We present preliminary results from an XMM-Newton observation of the bright, nearby (18 Mpc) Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 6300. We observe diffuse soft (0.1-2 keV) X-ray emission extended on a scale of ~ 2 arcmin, corresponding to the scale of the host ring galaxy. Two soft X-ray sources within 80 arcseconds of the nucleus were found. They may be ultraluminous compact X-ray sources, similar to those discovered in other nearby galaxies. The fainter of the two objects corresponds to a source of UV emission observed by the XMM-Newton optical monitor. It also matches a blue compact source in a B band image from the HST. If associated with the galaxy, its 0.2-10 keV luminosity range is 0.7-1.2 ×10^39ergs-1. The X-ray spectrum of the active nucleus is a rather typical one for a Compton-thin Seyfert 2 galaxy. It consists of a heavily absorbed, strongly-variable hard component dominating the 3-10 keV band, and a soft component dominating the 0.17-2 keV band. In the hard band, the spectrum is well fitted by a power-law model ( Gamma_{{hard}}() =~ 1.8) seen through a Compton-thin ( N[H] =~ 2.1×10^23cm-2) absorber. We confirm the presence of a K alpha fluorescence neutral iron line with a centroid at E[Fe] = 6.41 keV and an equivalent width EW[Fe] =~ 148 eV. The iron line energy may be marginally resolved. The observed flux in the 2-10 keV band is F =~ 9×10^-12ergscm-2s-1. The spectrum in the soft band is well fitted by a power-law ( Gamma_{{soft}}() =~ 1.7), attenuated only by the gas in our Galaxy.
