Lifting the Veil of Dust from NGC 0959: The Importance of a Pixel-Based
  2D Extinction Correction
  We present the results of a study of the late-type spiral galaxy NGC 0959,
before and after application of the pixel-based dust extinction correction
described in Tamura et al. 2009 (Paper I). Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)
far-UV (FUV) and near-UV (NUV), ground-based Vatican Advanced Technology
Telescope (VATT) UBVR, and Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) 3.6, 4.5, 5.8,
and 8.0 micron images are studied through pixel Color-Magnitude Diagrams
(pCMDs) and pixel Color-Color Diagrams (pCCDs). We define groups of pixels
based on their distribution in a pCCD of (B - 3.6 micron) versus (FUV - U)
colors after extinction correction. In the same pCCD, we trace their locations
before the extinction correction was applied. This shows that selecting pixel
groups is not meaningful when using colors uncorrected for dust. We also trace
the distribution of the pixel groups on a pixel coordinate map of the galaxy.
We find that the pixel-based (two-dimensional) extinction correction is crucial
to reveal the spatial variations in the dominant stellar population, averaged
over each resolution element. Different types and mixtures of stellar
populations, and galaxy structures such as a previously unrecognized bar,
become readily discernible in the extinction-corrected pCCD and as coherent
spatial structures in the pixel coordinate map.
