Observation of 2A1415+255 /NGC 5548/ by OSO-7

Results are reported for OSO 7 X-ray observations of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548, which has been positively identified with the X-ray source 2A1415+255, over the energy range from 5 to 350 keV. The best-fit power-law spectrum is found to have an index of 1.78 + or - 0.25 for the data from 5.4 to 100 keV. This best-fit model is used to calculate a 2-10-keV flux of (4.2 + or - 2.1) x 10 to the -10th erg/sq cm-sec on the assumption of no low-energy absorption. The observed variability is shown to imply an active region whose extent is of the order of a light year. This, in turn, implies that the bulk of the emission originates at the core of the galaxy, which would support a synchrotron self-Compton model.