MOTIVATION:
This survey is motivated by a recent analysis of the
IRAS database
by Devereux & Hameed 1997 (AJ 113, 599), which suggests that the
global massive star formation rates in early-type spirals
are comparable to the global massive star formation rates in
late-type spirals.
WHY USE H-Alpha:
The use of the far infrared luminosity as a tracer of high mass
star formation is still being debated in the literature. Therefore,
we are imaging these galaxies in H-Alpha, which is a less controversial
tracer of high mass star formation.
The H-Alpha images reveal the morphology and luminosity of the hydrogen
gas. The H-Alpha flux provides a measure of the massive star
formation rate, but it will be a lower limit because of extinction.
The continuum images elucidate large scale morphological features
such as stellar bars and bulges and evidence for interactions.
Images from the Survey