AAS Meeting #193 - Austin, Texas, January 1999
Session 76. Starburst and Ring Galaxies
Display, Friday, January 8, 1999, 9:20am-6:30pm, Exhibit Hall 1

## [76.06] Spectroscopic Follow-up of the KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey

C. Gronwall, J.J. Salzer (Wesleyan University), Kerrie McKinstry (Wellesley College)

The KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS) is a wide-field survey for extragalactic emission-line objects being carried out with the Burrell Schmidt at Kitt Peak. The critical difference between this survey and classical objective-prism surveys for active galaxies is the use of a CCD detector which allows us to probe to much fainter magnitudes than previous photographic surveys. We have discovered approximately 1100 candidate emission-line galaxies (ELGs) in a survey area of 68 sq. degrees (16.6 galaxies per square degree). These ELGs were identified via their H\alpha flux and have been used to measure the star formation rate (SFR) density of the local universe. Follow-up spectroscopy has been obtained for 231 of our KISS ELG candidates. Of these, 94% are confirmed as having strong emission lines. The emission line spectra for these objects allow us to measure the H\alpha flux, redshift, metallicity, and dust extinction for a well-defined sample of local star-forming galaxies. We classify these ELGs via standard line diagnostic diagrams, and find that ~10 % are Seyfert galaxies while the remainder are starburst galaxies of various types. The measured fluxes and redshifts are used to better calibrate the corresponding quantities measured from the objective prism spectra, and to define the completeness limits of the sample.