Public Lecture

CHARIOTS OF FIRE IN SPACE:

star-formation in galaxies

Public Lecture delivered by: Dr. Ángel R. López Sánchez (AAO/Macquarie University - Australia)

Author of the  blog: The Lined Wolf

Venue and Date: St Salvator's Quad - School 5, 19:00, June 10

Abstract: Galaxies such our Milky Way are collection of billions of stars. Some galaxies are formed by old red stars, but many others are dominated by young blue and luminous suns. Galaxies showing on-going star formation are also rich in nebulae. Stars are indeed formed within these nebulae, which are composed by gas and dust. Thanks to the advent of new observational technologies developed for optical telescopes, astrophysicists are now looking into the details of the relationships between the physical properties and the star-formation activity in galaxies. This new kind of data are able to dissect galaxies in detail, providing important clues about how galaxies and stars formed and evolved.

However, astrophysicists also need observations obtained using other kind of telescopes to complete the puzzle of the galaxies. In particular, astronomers need data of galaxies obtained using radiotelescopes, as these observations provide information about the cold gas within galaxies, how galaxies rotate, and reveal the existence of energetic phenomena in some galaxy centers. Observations obtained using space telescopes, which are able to see the X ray, ultraviolet, and infrared "colours", are also important to quantify other galaxy properties such as the details of star-formation or the distribution of the dust within galaxies. Only combining the information provided by all the colours available in Nature (X ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared and radio) will allow astronomers to really understand how galaxies are the way we see them now.