The stellar population in the SMC region N 76B.

Broadband infrared photometry of 39 supergiants and narrowband filter photometry of 18 supergiants in the N76B region of the SMC down to a magnitude of K equals approximately 12 is reported. All observations were taken on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope during August-December 1981 and August-December 1982. An InSb photodiode detector, cooled to solid nitrogen temperature, was used for all observations. The observations show that this region is populated by a large number of bright cool red and yellow supergiants and is similar to the 30 Dor region in the LMC. A somewhat higher metal abundance is found for supergiants of the region that has generally been accepted for the SMC.