30 Doradus - Ultraviolet and optical stellar photometry

Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) UV magnitudes in four bands, together with optical B magnitudes, are presented for up to 314 early-type stars located in a 9.7 x 9.7 arcmin field centered on R136. The magnitudes have an rms uncertainty estimated at 0.10 mag from a comparison between the UIT magnitudes and the IUE spectra. Spectral types and E(B-V) color excesses are estimated. The mean color excesses following the two extinction curves agree well with the predictions of the two-component extinction model of Fitzpatrick and Savage (1984). However, the degree of nebular extinction is found to vary systematically by large amounts over the 30 Dor field. The minimum of nebular extinction in the central parts of the nebula suggests that dust has been expelled from this region by stellar winds. It is suggested that the form of the UV extinction curve can be understood as a consequence of the evolutionary state of the stellar population responsible for making the dust grains.