The nature of late-type spiral galaxies: structural parameters,optical and near-infrared colour profiles, and dust extinction

Abstract

We analyse V and H-band surface photometry of a sample of 18 Sb-Sd galaxies. Combining high resolution HST images with ground-based NIR observations, we extract photometric profiles, which cover the whole disk and provide the highest possible resolution. This is the first photometric study of late-type spirals for which the stellar kinematics have been measured. For 10 out of the 18 galaxies, HST data in both F160W (H) and F606W (V ) are available, and, for those, we present colour maps and radial colour profiles at the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.