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The effect of dust attenuation on a galaxy's light depends on a number of physical properties, such as geometry and dust composition, both of which can vary across the faces of galaxies. To investigate this variation, we continue analysis on star-forming regions in 29 galaxies studied previously. We analyse these regions using Swift /UV Optical Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer images, as well as Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory emission line maps to constrain the relationship between the infrared excess (IRX) and the ultraviolet spectral index, β, for each star-forming region. This relationship can be used to constrain which dust attenuation law is appropriate for the region. We find that the value of Dn (4000) for a region is correlated with both IRX and β, and that the gas-phase metallicity is strongly correlated with the IRX. This correlation between metallicity and IRX suggests that regardless of aperture, metal-rich regions have steeper attenuation curves. We also find that integrated galactic light follows nearly the same IRX–β relationship as that found for kpc-sized star-forming regions. This similarity may suggest that the attenuation law followed by the galaxy is essentially the same as that followed by the regions, although the relatively large size of our star-forming regions complicates this interpretation because optical opacity and attenuation curves have been observed to vary within individual galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the discovery of a new 'changing-look' quasar, SDSS J101152.98+544206.4, through repeat spectroscopy from the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey. This is an addition to a small but growing set of quasars whose blue continua and broad optical emission lines have been observed to decline by a large factor on a time-scale of approximately a decade. The 5100 Å monochromatic continuum luminosity of this quasar drops by a factor of >9.8 in a rest-frame time interval of <9.7 yr, while the broad Hα luminosity drops by a factor of 55 in the same amount of time. The width of the broad Hα line increases in the dim state such that the black hole mass derived from the appropriate single-epoch scaling relation agrees between the two epochs within a factor of 3. The fluxes of the narrow emission lines do not appear to change between epochs. The light curve obtained by the Catalina Sky Survey suggests that the transition occurs within a rest-frame time interval of approximately 500 d. We examine three possible mechanisms for this transition suggested in the recent literature. An abrupt change in the reddening towards the central engine is disfavoured by the substantial difference between the time-scale to obscure the central engine and the observed time-scale of the transition. A decaying tidal disruption flare is consistent with the decay rate of the light curve but not with the prolonged bright state preceding the decay; nor can this scenario provide the power required by the luminosities of the emission lines. An abrupt drop in the accretion rate on to the supermassive black hole appears to be the most plausible explanation for the rapid dimming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]