Deep radio maps of BL Lacertae and 3C 446

Deep 20 cm B-configuration VLA maps have been made of the blazars BL Lacertae and 3C 446. Dynamic ranges of 5000-6300 (peak/3-sigma) have been achieved. The diffuse emission associated with BL Lacertae has a flux of about 29 mJy, corresponding to 2.7 x 10 to the 30th ergs/s Hz, and an extent of 40 arcsec equal to 48 kpc. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that BL Lacertae is a normal double radio galaxy seen from the jet direction. For 3C 446, any diffuse emission well separated from the core must be weaker than 1.3 mJy = 6 x 10 to the 31st ergs/s Hz per 4.4 arcsec (25 kpc) beam. A deep A-configuration map of 3C 446 is needed to search for a diffuse halo near the core. 13 references