We present and discuss optical , near-infrared and HI measurements of the galaxy Markarian 1460 at a distance of 19 Mpc in the Ursa Major Cluster .
This low-luminosity ( M _ { B } = -14 ) galaxy is unusual because ( i ) it is blue ( B - R = 0.8 ) and has the spectrum of an HII galaxy , ( ii ) it has a light profile that is smooth and well fit by an r ^ { 1 / 4 } and not an exponential function at all radii larger than the seeing , and ( iii ) it has an observed central brightness of about \mu _ { B } = 20 mag arcsec ^ { -2 } , intermediate between those of elliptical galaxies ( on the bright \mu _ { B } side ) and normal low-luminosity dwarf irregular ( on the low \mu _ { B } side ) galaxies .
No other known galaxy exhibits all these properties in conjunction .
On morphological grounds this galaxy looks like a normal distant luminous elliptical galaxy , since the fundamental plane tells us that higher luminosity normal elliptical galaxies tend to have lower surface-brightnesses .
Markarian 1460 has 2 \times 10 ^ { 7 } M _ { \odot } of HI and a ratio M ( HI ) /L _ { B } of 0.2 , which is low compared to typical values for star-forming dwarf galaxies .
From the high surface brightness and r ^ { 1 / 4 } profile , we infer that the baryonic component of Markarian 1460 has become self-gravitating through dissipative processes .
From the colours , radio continuum , HI and optical emission line properties , yet smooth texture , we infer that Markarian 1460 has had significant star formation as recently as \sim 1 Gyr ago but not today .