Physics Colloquium - Spring 2005 - A Glimpse of Galaxies at the Dawn of the Universe
A Glimpse of Galaxies at the Dawn of the Universe
Featuring guest lecturer Dr. Debra Elmegreen, Maria Mitchell Professor of Astronomy and Chair of the Physics & Astronomy Dept. at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Galaxies are bound collections of hundreds of billions of stars plus gas and dust. Spiral galaxies like our Milky Way have a 2-dimensional pinwheel shape. In contrast, elliptical galaxies have 3-dimensional shapes, and irregular galaxies are less structured. When we view galaxies at high redshifts, we see them as they were when the universe was less than 1/3 its present age. Such young galaxies often have very different appearances and properties than present-day galaxies. Images from the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes will be shown to illustrate how galaxies form and evolve, and how their build-up fits in to the overall structure and development of the universe.
Thursday, April 28, 2005; 7:00 pm
101 Neville Hall
Free Admission
Dr. Elmegreen is the Maria Mitchell Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her research interests are star formation and the structure of spiral and interacting galaxies. She observes in optical, near-infrared,and radio wavelengths.
Dr. Elmegreen is also the Director of the New York Science Talent Search, a statewide spin-off of the national Intel (formerly Westinghouse) competition for high school seniors.
Background: A.B. (astrophysics), Princeton University; Ph.D. (astronomy), Harvard University; Carnegie Postdoctoral Fellow, Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena.
Member: American Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union, Sigma Xi.
Author of over 150 papers plus a textbook on galaxies.
She will also be presenting the final Physics Colloquium of the semester on Friday, April 29 at 3:10 p.m. in Rm. 140 Bennett, entitled "High Redshift Galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field".
Sponsored by: The Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Distinguished Lecturer Series for the World Year of Physics 2005
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