This web page contains all handouts and slides from the Galactic Astronomy lecture (Spring term 2018). It will be continuously updated through the term, so check back regularly.
Lecture 1 handout: General course information.The Lecture Schedule is as follows:
| Week Number |
Dates | Chapter or Speaker |
Subject | Additional Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9-13 Apr | 1,2 | Introduction, Basic Measurements | VLT Light path animation |
| 2 | 16-20 Apr | 3 | Stars | Eclipsing binary animation |
| 3 | 23-27 Apr | 3, 4 | Stars, Galaxy Morphology | Hubble classification |
| 4 | 30 Apr - 4 May | 4, 5 | Galaxy Morphology; Stellar Evolution, Stellar Populations | Cluster HR diagram animation; Stellar evolution illustration; HR diagram for two globular clusters |
| 5 | 7-11 May | 5, 6 | Variable Stars, Supernovae; Star Clusters | |
| 6 | 14-18 May | 6, 7 | Star Clusters; The Cosmic Distance Scale | Open cluster classification; Pleiades open cluster; a selection of Globular Clusters |
| 7 | 25 May | -- | 5-minute project introductions | |
| 8 | 28 May - 1 Jun | 7, 8 | The Cosmic Distance Scale; The Interstellar Medium | Gaia Precision; Gaia Region |
| 9 | 4-8 Jun | 9 | The Milky Way's Interstellar Medium | |
| 10 | 11 Jun | 10 | Milky Way Components (No class on 15 June!) | |
| 11 | 18-22 Jun | 10, 11 | Milky Way Components and Galactic Kinematics | Sag dwarf tidal debris; M81 multi-frequency; Spiral structure; Fux (1999); Zhang et al. (2014, figs. 7,8); Dame et al. (2001, figs. 2,3). |
| 12 | 25-29 Jun | -- | Additional topics | Stars around Sag A* |
| 13 | 6 Jul | -- | Fri: Stefan Grohnert (Pulsars) (No class on 2 July!) | |
| 14 | 9-13 Jul | -- | Mon: Steffen Silies (Galaxy Colours), Mon: Thorben Mense (DM), Fri: Jonas Heinze (SMBHs) | |
| 15 | 16-20 Jul | -- | Project Presentations: Mon: Maria Riedl (Massive Stars), Mon: Tristan Dederichs (IGM), Fri: buffer |
Students who take the exam will furthermore be required to study the project of a fellow student. These pairings will be decided in class in week 8 and will be listed below.
| Student A | Student B | Project Topic | Talk Date | Draft Report | Final Report | Talk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tristan Dederichs | Steffen Silies | Galaxy Colours | Mon 9 July | Draft | Report | Talk |
| Steffen Silies | Stefan Grohnert | Pulsar Populations | Fri 6 July | Draft | Report | Talk |
| Stefan Grohnert | Jonas Heinze | Black Holes and Their Host Galaxies | Fri 13 July | Draft | Report | Talk |
| Jonas Heinze | Thorben Mense | Dark Matter | Mon 9 July | Draft | Report | Talk |
| Thorben Mense | Tristan Dederichs | The Inter-Galactic Medium | Mon 16 July | Draft | Report | Talk; Movie |
Note Student A is to study the project by Student B (and not vice-versa).
For your reference, an example report from two years ago, is provided here.
