The orientation of elliptical galaxies
  We determine the orientations of the light distribution of individual
elliptical galaxies by combining the profiles of photometric data from the
literature with triaxial models. The orientation is given by a Bayesian
probability distribution. The likelihood of obtaining the data from a model is
a function of the parameters describing the intrinsic shape and the
orientation. Integrating the likelihood over the shape parameters, we obtain
the estimates of the orientation. We find that the position angle difference
between the two suitably chosen points from the profiles of the photometric
data plays a key role in constraining the orientation of the galaxy. We apply
the methodology to a sample of ten galaxies. The alignment of the intrinsic
principle axes of the NGC 3379, 4486 and NGC 5638 are studied.
