Measuring and Classifying Spiral Galaxies - Outline of Project

Back to all Galaxy Projects

Back to Project Introduction

Project Leader: Dr Richard Beare (University of Warwick)
Principal Scientific Advisor: Professor Michael Merrifield (University of Nottingham)

Summary

Activities

Planning

In planning you will have to decide upon the galaxies that you want to image.

Observing

You use the telescope (in real time or off-line) to obtain JPEG images of spiral galaxies in different wavebands (colours). A full colour (colour composite) image is also obtained.

Commenting

You print out the images of each galaxy and comment in scientific terms on their features, including the differences between images in different colours.

Measuring

You then use the JPEG Viewer software to make simple measurements on a galaxy, including how tightly wound the spiral arms are in a spiral galaxy.

Classifying

You classify your galaxies using a modified form of Hubble's classification scheme. Your measurements will help in classifying the galaxies correctly.

Evaluating

You evaluate your results, comment on anything that went well or went badly, find explanations for anomalous results and suggest reasons and solutions for these

Further investigations you can try

Faulkes Atlas of Nearby Galaxies (FANG)

If you wish to produce high quality colour images of your galaxies, you can do this by using a long exposure time of (say) 5 minutes for each filter, or (better) you can take several colour images of one minute per filter each and then 'stack' these (combine them together using software). The high quality images so obtained could then contribute to the Faulkes Atlas of Nearby Galaxies which will be a full-colour on-line atlas of galaxies that will be useful to both professional astronomers and amateurs. For most galaxies, the images in this catalogue will be the first high quality colour images ever obtained.

Eventually, the images will be put together to make a full colour atlas of nearby galaxies that will make a very attractive "coffee table" book as well as being of great scientific value.

In both the on-line atlas and the book, credits will be printed alongside each image giving the name of the school and the individuals involved in obtaining and processing the image.

For further details go back to galaxy projects page.

Surface brightness profiles

There is a separate investigation which involves plotting surface brightness profiles of galaxies. You may wish to do this for some of the galaxies that you have observed and classified in this investigation. (You will not need to repeat the initial sections of this additional investigation, as you will already have done these things.)

For further details go back to galaxy projects page.

Richard Beare    11th February, 2004