the milky way galaxy astronomy 315 professor lee carkner lecture 17
Post on 21-Dec-2015
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Upcoming Extra Credit
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Via Lactia
The band forms a complete ring We seem to be in the center of a disk of
stars
Clouds of gas and dust block our view so it
is hard to see beyond our local region
Discovering The Galaxy In the early part of the century Harlow Shapley
found the distance to globular clusters using Cepheid variables
Globular clusters
Unlike stars in the disk, we can see distant globulars Cepheid variables
If we can find luminosity and flux we can get distance (F = L/4d2)
The Center
Shapley found the distance to the globulars and plotted their positions
He found:
We are not at the center of the galaxy
and the disk extends out much further than we can easily see
How Do We Learn About The Milky Way?
Optical observations
Radio observations
Infrared observations
Observing other galaxies Since we are in the middle of the Milky Way
we can’t get an overview of it
Structure of the Milky Way
Disk
Nucleus
Halo Spherical distribution of old stars and
globular clusters around disk and bulge
The Disk The disk is very thin
Younger stars and star forming regions near the center, older stars above and below
Disk exhibits differential rotation (inner parts rotating faster than outer)
Mass and Orbits Finding the properties of a star’s orbit
allows us to find the mass internal to the orbit
M = a3/P2
M = mass (in solar masses) P = a =
You must use the correct units!
Spiral Structure We know that other galaxies have spiral
structure, but it is harder to see the Milky Way’s
We find spiral arms by tracing:
They are not uniformly distributed but
are found in a loose spiral structure How do spiral arms form?
Density Waves Spiral arms are like traffic jams
This can trigger star formation in the arms
The clouds eventually move out the other side
The spiral arm material changes, only the pattern stays the same
At the Core
The nucleus is the hardest part of the galaxy to observe due to all the gas and dust
One, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), may be the center of the galactic core What is it?
Properties of the Core
Stars near the core are very close together and moving very fast
Sgr A* is emitting enormous amounts of energy
A black hole
Massive Black Holes Sgr A* does not move and may have jets and an
accretion disk
Can get mass from orbit of star S2: Period = Semimajor axis =
Formed from stars and clouds of material falling into the center
Our own is very hard to observe
The Halo The halo are stars orbiting in a large
sphere around the galaxy The halo is composed of old stars
Halo stars -- Population II -- metal poor Disk stars -- Population I -- metal rich
Halo stars formed formed early from relatively unprocessed material
Globular Clusters
Size: Shape: Contents:
Globulars are in elliptical orbits around the galactic center
Unlike open clusters in the disk, globular clusters are very tightly gravitationally bound
History of the Milky Way How did the galaxy form?
Basic theory has Milky way forming from smaller protogalaxies Gas stripped out to form disk
Remains of protogalaxies form halo