Transcript Star Clusters, Galaxies, & Black Holes

A quick Primer for Astronomical
Distances
• http://www.telescope.org/nuffield_21_sci/ast
rounits.htm
• http://janus.astro.umd.edu/astro/distance/
• http://heasarc.nasa.gov/docs/cosmic/earth.ht
ml
Star Clusters, Galaxies, & Black Holes
Life and Death in a Community of
Stars
Stars do not occur in space at completely
arbitrary places.
Some, such as the Sun, are single (field
star), but others are members of pairs or
form multiple-star systems.
Still others form clusters of various types,
and size.
All of them are condensed from clouds of
gas and dust.
Star Clusters
Open Cluster
Contain young stars
Often with nebulous gases
Example: Pleiades in Taurus
Globular Cluster
Contain old stars
Tight mass due to stars being
drawn by each others’
gravity.
Example: M13 in Hercules
M45 – The Pleiades
M13 – the Hercules Cluster
The Milky Way – inside view
Milky Way – Outside View
Where we are…
Milky Way Q & A
http://www.universetoday.com/21563/milky-way/
Sgr A – our very own Black Hole!
Other Galaxies to look for: M31
Other Galaxies to look for: M81 & M82
For more info…
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/as
tronomy/stars/constellations.shtml