Photometric Analysis of Local Starburst Galaxies: Dust and Star Formation Properties

Far-Infrared (> 150 micron) wavelength data are key to derive the dust mass of galaxies, as they capture colder emission linked to most of the dust. I analyze the central star-forming regions of a small sample of nearby galaxies to derive both their dust masses from far infrared observations and star formation rates from combining ultraviolet (0.15 micron) and mid-infrared (24 micron), using archival data from the Herschel, Spitzer and GALEX space missions. The goal of my research is to determine whether the strongly star forming regions follow the same trends in star formation rate versus dust mass as their parent galaxy.