Astronomy 210 Class Work (Jan 24)
1. Structure of the Universe and Galaxy Environments
Go to Atlas of the Universe .
Step through the map pages to get a feel for the structure of the Universe.
Then think about the following questions:
(a) Where is the Sun relative to the center of the Milky Way?
(b) What kinds of galaxies are nearest the Milky Way?
(c) What kinds of galaxies inhabit the Local Group?
(d) What is the Virgo Supercluster?
(e) What does the distribution of galaxies look like within
1 billion light years?
2. The Local Group and Dwarf Galaxies.
The website SEDS Local Group of Galaxies provides a list of galaxies within our own Local
Group. The list provides links to summary pages about each object.
Click on links to see the galaxies. Consider the following questions:
(a) What types of galaxies dominate the Local Group?
(b) Compare and contrast the optical properties of dwarf galaxies.
Why were the names `dwarf elliptical' and `dwarf irregular' picked?
Last updated January 24, 2008