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D. Devost (Cornell University), C. Robert (Universite Laval), V. Charmandaris (Cornell University)
We present new 18micron observations of NGC3690 (Arp299/Mrk171), one of the nearest IR luminous interacting galaxies observed with OSCIR on Gemini. Contrary to the disturbed morphology and patchy emission of the galaxy in the optical, near-IR and mid-IR observations suggest, like the UV image, that there is a considerable number of massive starburst regions of different ages and intensities which contribute to the global spectral energy distribution. The superior spatial resolution of our Gemini image enables us to resolve the dominant deeply dust enshrouded starburst region, known as B1, and to estimate the extinction in the area. A comparison with existing mid-IR, optical and UV images from the ISO and HST archives help us to quantify the contribution of the diffuse, weak and extended star forming regions to the mid-IR spectrum. Application of this work to other IR luminous galaxies will also be discussed.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: devost@astro.cornell.edu