| Abstract : | Interactions between galaxies play a significant role in regulating star formation and, thus, the evolution of galaxies. Most of the galaxies we know of in the present form have resulted from various interaction episodes. Such interaction episodes result in bursts of star formation. Young hot stars of spectral types O and B emit predominantly in the UV regime. Since the UV flux is a direct indicator of the star formation in galaxies, the UltraViolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) onboard ASTROSAT enables us to characterise the star-forming knots in the galaxy. We study the evolution of NGC 1512, a spiral barred galaxy which is known to be interacting with its satellite galaxy, NGC 1510. We have characterised the star-forming regions in the UV images, and properties correlated with the relative distribution and properties of the galaxy. Our study suggests that the observed knots in different regions of the galaxy (nuclear region, inner arms and spiral arms) exhibit different trends for physical properties of age, mass and star formation. We observe a definitive age gradient in the identified star-forming regions. The tidal stream branching out from NGC 1510 towards NGC 1512 exhibits heightened star formation. We also observed enhanced star formation in the regions of the nucleus and inner ring and probed the reason for the observed trend. |
