An Infrared Space Observatory Atlas of Bright Spiral Galaxies

In this first paper in a series we present an atlas of infrared images and photometry from 1.2 to 180 μm for a sample of bright spiral galaxies. The atlas galaxies are an optically selected, magnitude-limited sample of 77 spiral and S0 galaxies chosen from the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog (RSA). The sample is a representative sample of spiral galaxies and includes Seyfert galaxies, LINERs, interacting galaxies, and peculiar galaxies. Using the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), we have obtained 12 μm images and photometry at 60, 100, and 180 μm for the galaxies. In addition to its imaging capabilities, ISO provides substantially better angular resolution than is available in the IRAS survey, and this permits discrimination between infrared activity in the central regions and global infrared emission in the disks of these galaxies. These ISO data have been supplemented with JHK imaging using ground-based telescopes. The atlas includes 2 and 12 μm images. Following an analysis of the properties of the galaxies, we have compared the mid-infrared and far-infrared ISO photometry with IRAS photometry. The systematic differences we find between the IRAS Faint Source Catalog and ISO measurements are directly related to the spatial extent of the ISO fluxes, and we discuss the reliability of IRAS Faint Source Catalog total flux densities and flux ratios for nearby galaxies. In our analysis of the 12 μm morphological features we find that most but not all galaxies have bright nuclear emission. We find 12 μm structures such as rings, spiral arm fragments, knotted spiral arms, and bright sources in the disks that are sometimes brighter than the nuclei at mid-infrared wavelengths. These features, which are presumably associated with extranuclear star formation, are common in the disks of Sb and later galaxies but are relatively unimportant in S0-Sab galaxies. Based on observations with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, Netherlands, and United Kingdom) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.