2000A&A...363..130B

We present near infrared JHK photometry for the central area of the irregular dwarf galaxy IC 10. Red stellar population of IC 10 contains young (10-50Myr) massive red supergiants. Most of AGB stars are younger than 1Gyr and have masses up to 12M_☉. Comparing the red supergiants of IC 10 and IC 1613 we have determined the reddening of E(B-V)=1.05±0.10 and the dereddened distance modulus (m-M)₀=23.86±0.12mag of Population I stars in IC 10. Detection of six Brγ emission structures clearly outline two star forming regions in the central area of IC10. There is no H₂ emission down to 4.65x10^–16/(erg.cm².arcsec²) indicating that the dominant excitation mechanism of the molecular gas is from UV radiation from hot young stars. From the comparison of Brγ and Hα fluxes, we derive average extinction toward the star forming regions E(B-V)_Hα=1.8±0.2. The summarized SFR derived from six Hα and Brγ emission structures in our field of view is 0.6M_☉/year