September 1983
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Astronomy and Astrophysics
A method for surface photometry of galaxies and nebulae on ordinary Sky Atlas Schmidt plates or films is presented. Microphotometric measurements of stellar images are used to calibrate the photographic characteristic curves. The method is applied to the galaxy NGC 253 with an accuracy better than + or -0.2 m. Isophotal contour maps and luminosity profiles for the galaxy are shown.