Using high-quality H_α images of five spiral galaxies, we have studied the luminosity and distribution of the emission from diffuse ionized gas (DIG). The estimated DIG luminosities account for 25-60% of the total H_α emission in each galaxy and analysis of the distribution has shown that the DIG is highly correlated geometrically with the most

High resolution observations of interstellar Na I absorptions in the spectra of early-type stars in the second Galactic quadrant have been used to derive the spatial distribution of the nearby interstellar gas in the Galactic anticentre hemisphere. The data show the presence, within the region explored and within the nearest 150 pc, of eight

We analyse spectral images across the full emission line in H_α of the discs of M100 and M101, extracting for each HII region its spectrum, and for the more luminous and extended, spectra over a range of circular apertures. The principal components of these spectra are presented in log-log plots of luminosity vs. turbulent line-width. These plots

We use the catalogue of HII regions obtained from a high quality continuum-subtracted H_α image of the grand-design spiral galaxy NGC 7479, to construct the luminosity function (LF) for the HII regions (over 1000) of the whole galaxy. Although its slope is within the published range for spirals of the same morphological type, the unusually strong

We are currently performing a new analysis of the close environment of star-forming dwarf galaxies and its effects on their star-forming activity. For a sample of 142 thoroughly studied objects, we search the NASA Extragalactic Database for possible companion galaxies of any apparent luminosity and angular size. From a first analysis of a part of

The isophotal profiles and colour maps of a sample of 12 spiral galaxies allowed us to analyse the different structural components that compose them. These components were parameterized by performing a decomposition of the galaxy brightness profiles. Inferring the geometry for each component, we have obtained the spatial mass distribution and the