Understanding Galaxies In The Nearby Universe
Location
PANEL: Utilizing Mathematics to Conceptualize the Universe
Science Center A126, Nancy Schrom Dye Lecture Hall
Document Type
Presentation - Open Access
Start Date
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
End Date
4-28-2023 3:00 PM
Abstract
There are around 2 trillion galaxies in the observable Universe. Therefore, there’s an even bigger amount of data that can be collected from them. In fact, this suggests that in order to get to know more about our universe, astronomers need to obtain data using telescopes and other tools, to then narrow down what data we can investigate at any given time, and one piece of data that we can choose to look at is the metallicity.
Metallicity is the abundance of elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal physical matter in the Universe is either hydrogen or helium. In Astronomy the word "metals" is used as a convenient short term for "all elements except hydrogen and helium". Astronomers can estimate metallicities through measured and calibrated systems that correlate photometric measurements and spectroscopic measurements.
This research led by Professor Scudder in the Physics and Astronomy Department, presents an analysis of some data that has been obtained on metallicities, to address questions such as what the concentration of metallicity values is in different galaxies.
In this research we analyzed and compared the fraction of data points within a galaxy where metallicities exist, seeing this information in the form of a fraction value and graphically. The process of analyzing data was performed by using MySQL, coding in Python and applying functions of the NumPy Python library to generate histograms showing the fraction of spectra in each galaxy which can have a metallicity calculated for them.
Now, the area of the research that we are focusing on is looking for sources of light in a galaxy coming from things other than young stars. And the presentation will cover the research done previously as well as an overview on the part of the research we are currently working on.
Keywords:
Galaxies, Metallicities, Sources of light in a galaxy, Astrophysics
Recommended Citation
Tejera, Abby and Scudder, Jillian, "Understanding Galaxies In The Nearby Universe" (2023). Research Symposium. 17.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2023/presentations/17
Major
Physics; Computer Science
Project Mentor(s)
Jillian Scudder, Physics and Astronomy
2023
Understanding Galaxies In The Nearby Universe
PANEL: Utilizing Mathematics to Conceptualize the Universe
Science Center A126, Nancy Schrom Dye Lecture Hall
There are around 2 trillion galaxies in the observable Universe. Therefore, there’s an even bigger amount of data that can be collected from them. In fact, this suggests that in order to get to know more about our universe, astronomers need to obtain data using telescopes and other tools, to then narrow down what data we can investigate at any given time, and one piece of data that we can choose to look at is the metallicity.
Metallicity is the abundance of elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal physical matter in the Universe is either hydrogen or helium. In Astronomy the word "metals" is used as a convenient short term for "all elements except hydrogen and helium". Astronomers can estimate metallicities through measured and calibrated systems that correlate photometric measurements and spectroscopic measurements.
This research led by Professor Scudder in the Physics and Astronomy Department, presents an analysis of some data that has been obtained on metallicities, to address questions such as what the concentration of metallicity values is in different galaxies.
In this research we analyzed and compared the fraction of data points within a galaxy where metallicities exist, seeing this information in the form of a fraction value and graphically. The process of analyzing data was performed by using MySQL, coding in Python and applying functions of the NumPy Python library to generate histograms showing the fraction of spectra in each galaxy which can have a metallicity calculated for them.
Now, the area of the research that we are focusing on is looking for sources of light in a galaxy coming from things other than young stars. And the presentation will cover the research done previously as well as an overview on the part of the research we are currently working on.
