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D. Calzetti (Space Telescope Science Institute)
I review the impact of dust extinction on the restframe ultraviolet emission from star-forming galaxies both in the local and distant Universe. From the analysis of local starburst galaxies, it can be shown that the amount of dust extinction affecting those galaxies can be predicted with relative accuracy using information from the UV only. I will discuss both the applicability and the limitations of this result, in view of the current knowledge of the impact of dust on the general galaxy population. Arguments can be provided to support the view that high-redshift star-forming galaxies are similar to local starburst galaxies. Within the validity of such similarity, the extinction relations determined in the local Universe can be used to derive extinction-corrected UV fluxes (and star formation rates) in the distant Universe. Current observational results both in support and against this approach will be reviewed.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: calzetti@stsci.edu