B and R CCD surface photometry of late - type galaxies

We present B and R CCD observations of 16 latetype galaxies, mainly Magellanic irregulars and blue compact galaxies, at a limiting surface brightness of μB ∼ 26–27 mag arcsec−2. The sample is derived from a H I-rich subset of an H I survey of late-type dwarfs and consists of objects with – 19.5≤MB ≤–14.4, nine galaxies being fainter than MB=–17 (H0=75 km s−1 Mpc−1). Radial luminosity distributions for all the sample objects are presented. We find that the blue compacts become redder in (B − R) with increasing distances from their centres confirming other studies indicating that recent star formation in these galaxies may be centrally concentrated. The Im and Sm galaxies show flatter (B −R) colour profiles indicating less centrally concentrated recent star formation. The majority of the galaxies have an identifiable exponential disk while half also have a central bulge.