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We present very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) images of the core emission from a nearby bright FR II radio galaxy, Pictor A, revealing its parsec-scale jet structure and evolution for the Ðrst time. These data constitute a signiÐcant addition to our knowledge of powerful radio galaxies on the smallest scales, e †ectively doubling the number studied at this resolution. The jet, 14 h~1 pc in projected extent, is directed west of the core for the Ðrst 5 h~1 pc and then appears to bend approximately 40¡ to the north. Apparent motions for three of the Ðve parsec-scale jet components have been estimated, 0.5^0.4, 1.1^0.5, and 0.4^0.7 h~1c, indicating that subluminal motion is likely. No parsec-scale counterjet has been detected, allowing only lower limits on the jet-to-counterjet surface brightness ratio to be estimated. Two models, one describing the apparent 40¡ bend in the parsec-scale jet as an intrinsic deÑection of the jet and one describing it as the e †ect of jet precession, may each be plausible and should be testable with future VLBI observations. By adopting the jet deÑection model to describe the apparent 40¡ bend, we estimate that the Pictor A jet is initially inclined to our line of sight by less than 51¡. Comparing this result with VLBI observations of Cygnus A suggests that, while the components in both jets are consistent with at least mildly relativistic speeds, the Pictor A jet lies signiÐcantly closer to our line of sight than the Cygnus A jet. This conclusion is consistent with both the parsec-scale radio structures and the kiloparsec-scale orientations of the host galaxies as well as the "" uniÐed model ÏÏ interpretation of the optical spectra from these two objects.

Combined optical and radio images of galaxies can provide new insights into the sizes, masses, and possible evolution of these objects. Deep optical and neutral hydrogen images of Markarian 348, a type 2 Seyfert galaxy, show that it is a gigantic spiral (perhaps the largest known non-cluster galaxy). Measurements of the neutral hydrogen velocity field and spiral structure, and detection of an optical "tidal plume," all provide evidence that it has been subject to tidal disruption. The measured velocities yield a mass-to-light ratio for this object (within a radius of 130 kiloparsecs from its nucleus) that is similar to the ratio found for the inner regions of most galaxies of similar type. This is one of the few cases where detailed velocity measurements have demonstrated that a galaxy with an active nucleus has been subject to extensive tidal perturbation.

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