Mapping Star-Forming Regions and Their Physical Properties in Nearby Galaxies

From observations taken with the University of Hawai’i 2.2 meter (UH 2.2m) telescope’s Supernova Integral Field Spectrograph (SNIFS) we measure the physical properties of star forming regions in nearby galaxies in the visible spectrum. We are studying the star formation rates as a function of galactocentric position, host galaxy color, luminosity, size, distance, and type. We use Python to produce master science images and perform spectral analysis of the Hα, Hβ, [OIII], [OII], and [SII] line fluxes and ratios to plot the regions’ characteristics against properties of their host galaxies. Measuring the Hα to Hβ line flux ratios allows us to measure and correct for extragalactic extinction. We present trends of a sample of star forming regions in nearby galaxies.