• Back to UW Astronomy home page

  • Back to Linda Sparke's home page

    Astronomy 730 'Galactic Structure and Extragalactic Systems'
    Spring Semester 2006: 1:20pm MW, 6515 Sterling

    Final exam: Thursday May 11, 3-5pm (closed-book)

    Epicycles:

  • Click here for epicycles with the squares in the right place

    Homeworks:

  • Click here for the first two phases of the computer project as a pdf
  • See a picture of a shell galaxy, and a model to make the shells from a shredded dwarf
  • Click here for the 3rd phase of the computer project as a pdf
  • A paper explaining how to use the shell positions to find the potential
  • Click here for the 4th phase of the computer project as a pdf

  • Click here for the first 'regular' homework as a pdf
  • Click here for the figure for homework 1
    In question 3, the mysterious V is the volume in your observable cone that lies closer to you than the star that you are observing.
  • Click here for the second 'regular' homework as a pdf
  • Click here for the third 'regular' homework as a pdf
  • Click here for the fourth 'regular' homework as a pdf

    Due dates:
    Computer project 1: Friday Feb 10
    Regular homework 1: Friday Feb 17
    Computer project 2: Friday Feb 24
    Regular homework 2: Friday Mar 3
    Spring Break!!! Whew!
    Computer project 3: Wednesday Mar 22
    Regular homework 3: Friday Mar 31
    Computer project 4: Friday April 14
    Regular homework 4: Friday April 28
    Last class day: Wednesday May 3
    Final exam: Thursday May 11, 3-5pm (closed-book)

    Textbook: 'Galaxies in the Universe:an Introduction' by L.S. Sparke and J.S. Gallagher, Cambridge University Press, 2000. Second edition to appear in Spring 2007.

  • Click here for a tar file for text and figures of Chapter 7 of Second Edition (Groups and Clusters)

    Useful for the computer project: 'Numerical Recipes' in fortran or C: W.H. Press et al., Cambridge University Press, or on the web:

  • fortran 77
  • C version

    Grading: Closed-book final (40% of grade);
    About 4 homeworks, plus a computer project in 4 parts (60% of grade).

  • Final exam from 1997

    (Syllabus for 1997)

    Local distance scale; local luminosity functions; space distribution of stars in our Galaxy. Galactic rotation, orbits of stars in disk; kinematics of different components of Milky Way.

    Two-body relaxation rates: collisionless Boltzmann equation and application to disk dynamics. Globular clusters: distribution, metallicity, age, kinematics. Stellar dynamics with two-body encounters.

    The Local Group; stellar populations, chemical evolution in our Galaxy and others.

    Elliptical galaxies: observational properties, stellar content, shapes, kinematics. Models and application of collisionless dynamics: theory of orbits, integrals of motion.

    Spiral galaxies: observations, galaxy masses, dark matter problem, dynamics of spiral structure and bars; dynamical friction, galaxy mergers.

    Galaxies in the past: active galaxies, radio galaxies, QSOs.

    This page last modified: 19 December 2005