Using an Assumption about the Monotony of Spiral Arms to Determine the Orientation Angles of Galaxies

Abstract

A method is proposed for the determination of the position and inclination angles of the plane of a spiral galaxy based on the assumption that every spiral arm is a monotonic function of the radius versus azimuthal angle. This method may yield more accurate results than the more commonly employed isophote method, which is fraught with various drawbacks. The use of the new method is illustrated by applying it to a sample of 43 objects, and the results agree well with data from other sources.