Astr 511: Galactic Astronomy

Winter 2009, University of Washington

Tuesday 1:30-2:50, Thursday 2:00-3:20, PAB B356A

E-mail Željko: ivezicATastro.washington.edu

Class materials:

(all files are pdf):

Syllabus

Lecture notes:

"I must confess that the lectures of these men netted me no perceptible gain. It was obvious that Helmholtz never prepared his lectures properly... Kirchhoff was the very opposite... but it would sound like a memorized text, dry and monotonous."

Max Planck (Scientific Autobiography and other Papers, p. 15, Williams & Nolgate, London, 1950)

How do I print lectures with 4 pages on each printout page?

Links to postscript lectures with 4 pages on each printout page.

Lectures in pdf format:

Lecture 1: Review of stellar astrophysics

Lecture 2: Review of galaxies

Lecture 3: Galaxies in SDSS, luminosity function

Lecture 4: Open and Globular clusters

Lecture 5: Guest Lecture by Bruce Balick: ISM (NOTE: ppt, not pdf!)

Lecture 6: Basic Properties of the Milky Way

Lecture 7: Stellar Count Distribution in the Milky Way

Lecture 8: Stellar Metallicity Distribution in the Milky Way

Lecture 9: Stellar Kinematics in the Milky Way

Lecture 10: Stellar Kinematics: a bit of theory

Lecture 11: Merger history: observations and theory

Lecture 12: The Road Ahead: Gaia and LSST

Homework assignments:

Homework 1

Assignment

and gzipped data file

Homework 2

Assignment

gzipped ``truth" data file: LSSTsimWDtruth60.dat.gz

gzipped ``observed" data file: LSSTsimWDobs60.dat.gz

``true" disk luminosity function data file: WDlumfuncDisk.dat

``true" halo luminosity function data file: WDlumfuncHalo.dat

and a short description of the modeled white dwarf population

Homework 3

Assignment

and gzipped data file

Some interesting class-related links/materials:

Simulations of galaxy encounters

Simulations of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

The Milky Way Explorer by Kevin Jardine - a fantastic resource!

For relaxation:

Space Coloring Book for children (and others)