  We present HST/NICMOS [FeII]1.644micron, Pa-alpha (1.87micron) and continuum
images of the starburst galaxies M82 and NGC253 at an unprecedented spatial
resolution. In both galaxies we detect [FeII] compact sources superimposed on a
diffuse background in the disk of the galaxies together with a component above
and below the plane of the galaxy. The radio and [FeII] emissions perpendicular
to the disk of M82 show a remarkable similarity to each other, suggesting that
both emissions originate in shocks from supernova explosions. We find a spatial
correspondence between bright compact [FeII] emitting regions and the location
of radio supernova remnants (SNR) for approximately 30-50% of radio SNRs in M82
and NGC253. This lack of a one-to-one correspondence, more than being
indicative of a different origin for the radio and [FeII] emission in
starbursts, suggests two populations of SNRs: an older population(<10^4yr)
traced by the [FeII] emission and a younger population (a few hundred years
old) traced by the radio SNRs. We therefore conclude that the [FeII] emission
in starburst galaxies provides a good estimate of the supernova activity. Using
our newly determined [FeII] luminosities (corrected for extinction) of M82 and
NGC253, we reevaluate the calibration of the supernova rate in terms of the
[FeII] luminosity for starburst galaxies.
