NGC 2685 - Spindle or pancake

Long-slit SIT spectra of NGC 2685 along its major and minor axes, covering the wavelength range from 3642 to 5246 A, are examined which were obtained with the 5-m Hale telescope. A heliocentric systemic velocity of roughly 820 km/s is estimated, along with velocity dispersions of 111 (+21, -25) km/s for the central 7 arcsec along the major axis and 92 (+27, -34) km/s for the central 7 arcsec along the minor axis. Gas motions along the minor axis similar to those found by Ulrich (1975) are observed, and the stellar redshift profile observed along the major axis is shown to resemble very much the stellar rotation previously seen in an S0 and an Sa/Sb galaxy. In particular, a clear departure from solid-body rotation is indicated.