ULTRAVIOLET TO NEAR-INFRARED SPECTRAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF STAR-FORMING AND SEYFERT 2 GALAXIES

Combined UV, optical, and near-IR spectral distributions of a sample o f 48 southern star-forming and Seyfert 2 galaxies are presented. The o ptical and near-IR spectra were obtained using apertures matching thos e of the UV observations (10 '' X 20 '') and in most cases correspond to the bulk of the gas and stellar population contribution from the wh ole galaxy. No such data set-taken with matched apertures and spanning such a large spectral range-exists in the literature today. The obtai ned spectral distributions are particularly useful as a comparison sam ple for spectroscopic surveys of more distant galaxies. Emission-line fluxes, continuum fluxes, and equivalent widths of absorption lines ar e measured from the spectra, and average values corresponding to the d ifferent activity types-blue compact dwarf, blue compact, starburst, S eyfert, and composite (starburst and Seyfert)-are presented and discus sed.