ISOCAM Mid‐Infrared Imaging of the Quiescent Spiral Galaxy NGC 7331

Using the mid-infrared camera (ISOCAM) on the Infrared Space Observatory ( ISO ), the Sb LINER galaxy NGC 7331 has been imaged in two broadband and four narrowband filters between 6.75 and 15 μm. These maps show a prominent circumnuclear ring of radius 0 25 × 0 75 (1.1 × 3.3 kpc) encircling an extended central source. The 7.7 and 11.3 μm dust emission features are strong in this galaxy, contributing approximately one-third of the total IRAS 12 μm broadband flux. In contrast to starburst galaxies, the 15 μm continuum is weak in NGC 7331. The mid-infrared spectrum does not vary dramatically with position in this quiescent galaxy, showing neither large-scale destruction of the carriers of the emission bands nor a large increase in the 15 μm continuum in the star-forming ring. In the bulge there is some enhancement of the LW2 (6.75 μm) flux, probably because of contributions from photospheric light; however, the 11.3 μm dust feature is also seen, showing additional emission from interstellar or circumstellar dust.