NGC 1427A is a LMC-like irregular galaxy in the Fornax cluster with an
extended pattern of strong star formation around one of its edges, which is
probably due to some kind of interaction with the cluster environment. We
present H-alpha velocities within NGC 1427A, obtained through long-slit
spectroscopy at seven different positions, chosen to fall on the brightest HII
regions of the galaxy. Due to its location very near the center of the cluster
this object is an excellent candidate to study the effects that the cluster
environment has on gas-rich galaxies embedded in it. The rotation of NGC 1427A
is modeled in two different ways. The global ionized gas kinematics is
reasonably well described by solid-body rotation, although on small scales it
shows a chaotic behaviour. In this simple model, the collision with a smaller
member of the cluster as being responsible for the peculiar morphology of NGC
1427A is very unlikely, since the only candidate intruder falls smoothly into
the general velocity pattern of the main galaxy. In a more elaborate model, for
which we obtain a better solution, this object does not lie in the same plane
of NGC 1427A, in which case we identify it as a satellite bound to the galaxy.
These results are discussed in the context of a normal irregular versus one
interacting with some external agent. Based on several arguments and
quantitative estimates, we argue that the passage through the hot intracluster
gas of the Fornax cluster is a very likely scenario to explain the
morphological properties of NGC 1427A.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX2e, uses aas2pp4.sty and psfig.sty, including 7
Postscript figures; accepted for publication in ApJ, Vol. 530, February 200