On-source images were taken in a mosaic of 4 positions, alternately putting the galaxy core in each of the four quadrants of the array. Flat-field images were taken on the dome with the lamps turned on and off to account for the thermal glow of the telescope. The nucleus of the galaxy itself was used as the guiding source for the AO system, roughly a 14th magnitude point source. The natural seeing averaged 0.6''-0.8'' throughout the observations resulting in relatively high strehl ratios in all bands, and FWHM of 0.14'', 0.17'', 0.22'' at K, H, J bands respectively. A diffuse, ellongated structure containing wispy spiral bands is seen surrounding the nucleus in all wavelengths.
All methods consistently unveil the knotty spiral structure.
The most prominent feature is an irregular-shaped patch to the southwest. The fact that this region appears clearly as a deficit in the V-band image, and takes on a patchy morphology is strong evidence for dust obscuration as the source of the color gradient. The color maps reveal that the nucleus is very red, possibly as a result of thermal dust emission in the K band. This feature may represent the warping of a gaseous disk, with the presence of a starbursting component as it is coincident with the innermost ring of knot structures seen in the model subtracted images. The twisted isophotes make the interpretation of the elongated feature as a nuclear bar potential somewhat dubious, but the profiles are difficult to analyze with certainty as the feature is near the level of our image resolution.