Course Outline:

(1) Overview of galaxies and their structure.
Reading: text sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3.
Aug 25: The Hubble sequence and other non-morphological classification schemes.
ESO page on sky brightness

Aug 27: classifying galaxies
Aug 28 (class at 8:30am) Moving away from morphology

Sept 1: no class!
Sept 3: no class!

Sept 8: Galaxy spectra

Sept 8: Measuring galaxy concentration, galaxy luminosity function

Sept 8: Slides on galaxy luminosity measurement, from Prof Andreas Berlind, Vanderbilt University

Sept 10: no class!

(2) Does environment matter?
Nature vs nurture. Galaxy luminosity function.
Reading: text Ch 7, p278-297
Dynamics of mergers(Mihos javalab)

Sept 17: Galaxy morphology and environment
Sept 18: (makeup class) Causes of galaxy trends with environment.

(3) A late-type spiral in a poor group -- the Milky Way
(a) Techniques of stellar populations:
Reading: text Ch 2.1, pp 58-66
Sept 22: Distance measurement: Absolute and relative distance indicators. Main sequence fitting.
Sept 24: Review variable stars: Prof Mihos 222 notes
Cepheids and Baade-Wesselink method.
Recent work on Cepheids.
Reading: Binney and Merrifield Section 7.2, 7.2.1

Sept 29: in-class test

Oct 1: Stellar luminosity function

Oct 5 and 8: Mass function and initial mass function

(b) Milky Way structure:
(i) disk populations: ISM, thin disk, thick disk, bar.
Mapping the Galaxy with star counts. Disk kinematics. Rotation. Epicycles, disk heating, spiral structure.
Multi-wavelength Milky Way

Oct 8: Stellar populations in the Galaxy
The thin disk.

Oct 13: Thin disk's age, metallicity distribution, star count techniques.

Oct 15: midterm

Oct 16: The Galactic Bar

Prof Mihos movie of disk going bar unstable

Tues Oct 27: Stellar kinematics
Tues Oct 27: Orbits and Epicycles

Spiral structure and density waves

Oct 30: Formation of thick disk 1. (first page blank by accident)
Oct 30: Formation of the thick disk 2.

(ii) The stellar halo
Dynamical friction (Mihos javalab)

Nov 3: Age measurement of globular clusters

Nov 5: Halo kinematics and formation

(4) The Local Group.
Reading: text Ch 4, 4.1
(i) The three spirals: M31, Milky Way, M33. Reading: text Ch 4.2
(ii) Dwarf galaxies in the Local Group. Reading: text Ch 4.4

Nov 10: the Local Group

Nov 10: Dwarf galaxies in the Local Group 1.

Nov 10: Dwarf galaxies in the Local Group 2.

Nov 12: Star formation in Local Group dwarfs

(5) Galaxy formation
Dark Matter. Galaxy formation theories. Reading: Text section 4.3. Longair Ch 11, Mihos 328 notes.
Nov 17: Galaxy formation: theory

Nov 19: Galaxy formation: more theory

Nov 19: Disks and angular momentum

How galaxies get angular momentum

(6) Elliptical galaxies
Properties and surface photometry.

Nov 24: Types of elliptical

Nov 24: Boxy and disky ellipticals, shells

Dec 1: The virial theorem and the fundamental plane

Dec 1: Using the fundamental plane