POSITION ANGLE STATISTICS OF THE 1ST AND 2ND BRIGHTEST GALAXIES IN A SAMPLE OF COMA-LIKE ABELL CLUSTERS

Position angle (P.A.) data are presented for a sample of 68 clusters of the Rood-Sastry B type (like Coma). The data consist of P.A.s of the major axis of the two brightest members, the line joining the two, and the long axis of the galaxy distribution of the parent cluster. We find statistically significant evidence of alignment of the brightest member with the long axis of the parent cluster as well as with the line of separations joining the two brightest members. The second brightest member is also aligned with this line, but evidence that the second brightest is aligned with the parent cluster is weak; this is one further support for the status of first brightest cluster members as the product of "special" formation processes, a status not shared by the second brightest member. There is also statistically significant alignment between the line of separations and the long axis of the parent cluster.