  Broad and narrow band images and long slit spectroscopy of IC1182 are
presented. The broad band images reveal a distorted morphology with a large,
heavily obscured disk-like structure and several knots in the central region.
Galactic material, some of it in the form of two tails, is detected well beyond
the main body of the galaxy. The second, fainter tail and several knots are
reported here for the first time. The narrow band images show that the galaxy
is a powerful emitter. The emission in the main lines extends all over the
galaxy, with plumes and arc-like structures seen in H$\alpha$ at large
distances from the center. The uncorrected H$\alpha$ flux corresponds to
3.51$\times10^{41}$ erg s$^{-1}$, 3 times that of Arp 220. The internal
extinction deduced from the Balmer decrement is high all along the slit, with
E$_{B-V}\approx$ 1. There are no clear signs of nuclear activity and the
observed line ratios can be explained in terms of stellar photoionization. The
metallicity of the gas in the two brightest central knots is low, 0.1
Z$_{\odot}$ and 0.06 Z$_{\odot}$ respectively. In the main body of the galaxy,
besides the reported knots, the distribution of the ionized gas resembles that
of an inclined disk about 12 kpc in size. The rotation pattern is complex and
corresponds to two identifiable disk galaxies with observed rotation amplitudes
of 200 \kms and 100 \kms respectively. The data presented here indicate that IC
1182 is a high luminosity starburst system, involving two systems in the
process of merging, with two tidal tails emerging from the central region of
the galaxy.
