HUBBLE-SPACE-TELESCOPE ULTRAVIOLET SPECTROSCOPY OF NGC-1741 - A NEARBY TEMPLATE FOR DISTANT ENERGETIC STARBURSTS

We have obtained a Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet image and spectr um of the nearby Wolf-Rayet galaxy NGC 1741. The spatial morphology fr om the Faint Object Camera image is dominated by two main starburst ce nters, each being about 100 times as luminous as 30 Doradus. Both star burst centers are composed of several intense knots of recent star for mation. A Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph spectrum of a portion o f the southern starburst center is consistent with a population of you ng stars following a Salpeter IMF for masses above similar to 15 M(cir cle dot) (lower mass stars may also be present) and extending up to si milar to 100 M(circle dot); about 10(4) O-type stars are inferred from the UV luminosity. Numerous strong interstellar lines are detected. A lthough not resolved, their strength suggests that they are formed in individual bubbles and shells with velocities up to a few hundred km s (-1). The red wing of the Ly alpha absorption profile indicates the pr esence of several neutral hydrogen components, one in our own Galaxy a nd the others at or close to the distance of NGC 1741, Overall, the st ellar and interstellar line spectrum, as well as the continuum shape o f NGC 1741, strongly resembles star-forming galaxies recently discover ed at high redshift.