NGC 4968 A NEARBY SEYFERT 2 GALAXY HAS AN EXTREME FE K-ALPHA EQUIVALENT WIDTH (EW = 2.5 KEV) A HALLMARK OF COMPTON-THICK OBSCURATION. HINTS FROM THE CHANDRA SPECTRUM SUGGEST THIS OBSCURATION HAS A SPHERICAL COVERING GEOMETRY WHICH COULD POSSIBLY BE FED BY CIRCUMNUCLEAR STAR FORMATION. WE REQUEST 2 20 KS NUSTAR OBSERVATIONS SPACED>= 6 MONTHS APART TO MEASURE THE COLUMN DENSITY AND GEOMETRY OF THE X-RAY REPROCESSOR CALCULATE THE INTRINSIC X-RAY LUMINOSITY AND COMPARE THAT WITH THE MID-INFRARED EMISSION AND TO SEARCH FOR VARIABILITY SIMILAR TO THAT OBSERVED IN NGC 1068 THE PROTOTYPICAL COMPTON-THICK AGN WHICH ALSO HAS AN EXTREME FE K-ALPHA EW. EVIDENCE OF VARIABILITY WOULD PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE PHYSICS OF THE CENTRAL ENGINE AND PERHAPS DISTANCE TO THE X-RAY REPROCESSOR.

Association Of Universities For Research In Astronomy, Inc., Tucson AZ

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