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Description of the Course and
Web Site
Welcome to our
Astronomy 121 web site. This semester we have an exciting jointly
offered seminar in collaboration with the Carnegie Observatory staff in
Pasadena. Eight of their distinguished scientists will be presenting
seminars for our undergraduates on the state of their area of
extragalactic research.
This web site
will serve as a point of contact to
gather
information on the seminars, lectures, and general aspects of cosmology
and extragalactic astrophysics. Below are listed
several different sites which will be useful for completing class
projects,
and preparing presentations on Cosmology. Also included are links
to Course materials.
IMPORTANT EVENTS:
Guest lecture: Dr. Thomas
Jarrett (Caltech)
-- in class January 26, 2006 -- "Galaxies on the Horizon."
First Carnegie Seminar: Dr.
Michael Rauch (OCIW) -- Feb 2, 2006 - "Re-ionization, Element Formation
and Quasar Absorption Lines."
Course
Materials
Seminars,
Background Information, and Journal Readings
Our class will be
travelling to the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution in
Pasadena, and having a series of seminars with the scientists on staff
at Carnegie. Each seminar will be designed for our undergraduates. The
seminar dates, speakers, and a set of readings and background
materials are listed below.
Seminar 1: Feb 2, 2006 --Dr.
Michael Rauch (OCIW)
"The Cosmic Web and QSO
Absorption Lines"
Readings for Seminar 1:
-
-
- www.ociw.edu/~mr/lyforest.ps
is an article from the encyclopedia of astronomy that summarizes some
of the nomenclature and basic material on absorption lines.
Seminar 2: Feb 9, 2006 --Dr.
Luis Ho (OCIW)
Title: The Hubble Sequence: History, Challenges, and Future Directions
Abstract: Eighty years ago, Edwin Hubble invented a highly successful
system for classifying galaxy morphologies, one that has largely
remained
intact to date. I will briefly describe the history of the Hubble
classification system, highlight its strengths and weaknesses, and
discuss
new directions in which it might evolve in order to accommodate the
challenges posed by recent observations. I will introduce a major
new
project, the Carnegie-Irvine Nearby Galaxies Survey, which is being
undertaken to understand the diversity of galaxy morphology.
Readings for Seminar 2:
-
-
- www.ociw.edu/~lho
is Dr. Ho's web site, and will help you understand some of the work he
is doing at Carnegie.
Seminar 3: Feb 23, 2006 -- Dr. John Mulchahey (OCIW)
"Intracluster Medium, X-rays and Groups of Galaxies"
Abstract: X-ray observations reveal the hottest spots in the
universe--places
where particles have been energized or raised to high temperatures by
intense gravitational fields. A wide range of astronomical objects
have been detected with X-ray telescopes including black holes,
neutron stars, quasars, groups and clusters of galaxies and the sun.
I will provide an overview of recent discoveries in X-ray astronomy
and how we are using X-ray observations at Carnegie to understand
galaxy clusters and supermassive blackholes.
We've now known for over fifty years that galaxies tend not to occur
in isolation, but rather are found in systems containing tens to
hundreds of galaxies.
These systems are known as groups and clusters of galaxies.
X-ray observations have shown that the space between the galaxies in
these systems
is filled with a hot low density gas. I will discuss how the presence
of this
hot gas is being used to search for and study dark matter in groups and
clusters. I will also discuss how we use X-ray observations to uncover
supermassive blackholes at the centers of galaxies that are hidden from
view
by dust and gas.
Readings for Seminar 3:
Seminar 4: March 9, 2006 -- Dr. Alan Dressler (OCIW)
"Large Scale Structure and Galaxy Evolution in Clusters"
Seminar 5: March 23, 2006 -- Dr. Francois Schweizer (OCIW)
"Galaxy collisions and mergers"
Seminar 6: April 6, 2006 -- Dr. Pat McCarthy (OCIW)
"Galaxy Formation, Evolution and high redshift galaxies"
Seminar 7: April 20, 2006 -- Dr. Barry Madore (OCIW)
"What, If Anything, is a Galaxy?"
Seminar 8: April 27, 2006 -- Dr. Andy McWilliam (OCIW)
"Chemical Evolution and Galactic Archaeology"
Schedule
of Class Topics and Readings
If
you have comments or suggestions, email me at bpenprase@pomona.edu