The Cosmological Context of the Milky Way Galaxy

General interest seminar

The Cosmological Context of the Milky Way Galaxy

  • Event time: 5:00pm until 6:00pm
  • Event date: 24th March 2016
  • Speaker: (Johns Hopkins University)
  • Location: Lecture Theatre A,

Event details

All are welcome to attend this Leverhulme General Interest Seminar.

Rosemary Wyse is a Leverhulme Visiting Professor in the School of Physics & Astronomy. 

Refreshments will be served from 16.30 before the lecture.

Undergraduates are particularly encouraged to attend.

Abstract

Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is a typical large disc galaxy and can be used as a template for understanding how galaxies form. We can obtain much more detailed information about the stars that make up our Galaxy than we can for more distant galaxies. Stars retain memory of the conditions in which they formed and stars of mass like the Sun live for essentially the age of the Universe. We can thus use old stars nearby to probe the early epochs of galaxy evolution, in a very complementary way to direct observations of galaxies at high redshift. I will discuss how observations of stars in the Milky Way and in its satellite galaxies shed light on fundamental questions such as the nature of the dark matter that dominates how galaxies form and evolve. 

Further information

About General interest seminars

Our General Interest Seminars are an opportunity for distinguished speakers to present new research in physics and related areas. The material presented is suitable for undergraduate level upwards and all members of the School are welcome to attend..

Find out more about General interest seminars.