From M100 to NGC 7331: A Multiband Study and Physical Parameters in Nearby Galaxies

TL;DR

This study combines multiband imaging of five nearby galaxies to analyze their physical components, demonstrating how different spectral windows reveal distinct features and improve understanding of galaxy structures.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive multiband analysis of nearby galaxies, illustrating the effectiveness of combining public data and simple photometry for physical diagnostics.

Findings

UV/blue traces recent star formation

NIR outlines old stellar mass and structure

X-rays reveal compact sources and hot gas

Abstract

We study five nearby galaxies (M100/NGC 4321, NGC 1300, M 74, M 60, and NGC 7331) by combining multiband imaging (optical, UV, NIR, and X-rays) with simple photometric measurements to show how each spectral window traces different physical components: UV/blue emphasizes recent star formation, NIR outlines the old stellar mass and internal structure, and X-rays reveal compact sources and hot gas. For M100 we present a multiband mosaic with X-ray contours including the SN 1979C region. We compare isophotal morphology in NGC 1300 (barred) and M 74 (unbarred), quantify ellipticity and equivalent radius in M 60, and illustrate a Tully-Fisher distance estimate for NGC 7331, discussing assumptions (inclination, internal corrections) and consistency with classical scales. Our results underscore that a layered view reduces interpretative biases and that straightforward integrations of public data with open-source software yield robust introductory-level physical diagnostics.