Long slit CCD observations of active and normal galaxies

A comparative study between a sample of Seyfert galaxies and a control sample of galaxies is presented to determine if the presence of an active nucleus would in any way effect its host galaxy. An obvious manifestation of such an effect would be changes in the star formation properties of the Seyfert galaxies relative to the control sample. Since the star formation rate is directly related to the amount of H alpha emission, the H alpha luminosity along the major axis of each program galaxy was measured. The result of this work was twofold. First, a highly optimized CCD camera system was developed for use as a facility instrument. This camera system was then used to spectroscopically survey 15 Seyfert and 15 normal galaxies. H alpha emission was measured in 12 Seyfert and 12 normal galaxies. It was found that after comparing a number of different qualities all dependent on the star formation process, there was no discernible difference between the sample of Seyfert galaxies and the sample of normal galaxies. In particular, the total H alpha emission, line ratios, and various properties of the sites of star formation and their spatial distribution were similar between the two samples. This implies that the disk regions of Seyferts are identical to the disks of normal spirals as determined by the properties of their giant HII regions