Active and Normal Galaxies

The
Universe
of
Galaxies Prepared by:
Judy-ann P. Jardinan
III-BEED
Chapter 18:
Galaxies: Normal and Active
Overview
The Family of Galaxies
Measuring the Properties of Galaxies
The Evolution of Galaxies
Active Galactic Nuclei
Supermassive Black Holes
Milky Way Galaxy is only one of
the many billions of galaxies
visible in the sky
The
Family of
Galaxies
The Shapes of Galaxies
1) Many galaxies have no
disk, no spiral arms, and
almost no gas and dust.
These elliptical galaxies
range from huge giants to
small dwarfs.
2) Disk-shaped galaxies usually have
spiral arms and contain gas and dust.
Many of these spiral galaxies have a
central region shaped like an
elongated bar and are called barred
spiral galaxies. A few disk
galaxies contain little gas and dust.
3) Irregular galaxies
are generally shapeless
and tend to be rich in
gas and dust.
Measuring the
Properties of
Galaxies
Distance
• The distances to galaxies are so large that it is not
convenient to measure them in light-years, parsecs, or even
kilo parsecs. Instead, astronomers use the unit
megaparsec (Mpc),or 1 million pc.
One Mpc = 3.26 million ly, or approximately
3x10 km pr(2x10 miles)
19 19
Distance
• Such objects are called distance indicators
because they can be used to find the distance to a
galaxy.
• Astronomers often refer to them as standard candles.
If you can find a standard candle in a galaxy, you can
judge its distance
The Hubble Law
astronomers Edwin
Hubble and Milton
Humason were able to
measure the distances to
a number of galaxies
using Cepheid variable
stars.
The Hubble Law
1929, they published a graph that plotted
the apparent velocity of recession versus
distance for their galaxies. The points in
the graph fell along a straight line
Vr = Hd
Diameter and Luminosity
The results of such observations show that galaxies differ dramatically in size
and luminosity
Irregular galaxies tend Our Milky Way Galaxy is large Elliptical galaxies
to be small, 1 to 25 and luminous compared with cover a wide range of
percent the size of our most spiral galaxies, though diameters and
galaxy, and of low astronomers know of a few luminosities
luminosity. spiral galaxies that are even
larger and more luminous. The largest, called giant ellipticals,
are five times the size of our Milky Way
Mass
• Using such a graph to find
the mass of the galaxy is
called the rotation curve
method.
• It is the most accurate way to
find the mass, but it works
only for the nearer galaxies,
whose rotation curves can be
observed.
Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxies
To hold stars in such small, short period orbits, the
centers of galaxies must contain millions or even
billions of solar masses in a very small region.
• The evidence shows that the nuclei of many
galaxies contain supermassive black
holes. The Milky Way contains a supermassive
black hole at its center, and evidently that is
typical of galaxies.
Dark Matter in Galaxies
• X-ray images of galaxy clusters
show that many of them are Gravitational lensing
filled with very hot, low-density occurs when light from a
gas. The amount of gas present distant object passes a
is much too small to account for nearby massive object
the dark matter. Rather, the gas and is deflected by the
is important because it is very gravitational field.
hot and its rapidly moving atoms
have not leaked away
Dark Matter in Galaxies
Dark matter is independent of Newton’s laws and gives astronomers great
confidence that dark matter is real
Theorists conclude that …….
Dark matter must be made up of some as yet undiscovered
subatomic particles that do not interact with normal matter, with
each other, or with light.
Dark matter is detectable only through its gravitational field.
Dark matter is not an insignificant cant issue.
The
Evolution
of
Galaxies
Cluster of Galaxies
•Rich clusters
contain a thousand or
more galaxies, mostly
ellipticals, scattered
through a volume
roughly 3 Mpc (107ly) in
diameter.
Cluster of Galaxies
• Poor clusters contain fewer than
a thousand (and often only a few)
galaxies spread through a region that
can be as large as a rich cluster. That
means the galaxies are more widely
separated.
Cluster of Galaxies
The total number of galaxies in
the Local Group is uncertain,
but it probably contains about 40
galaxies scattered irregularly
through a volume roughly 1 Mpc
in diameter
Our Milky Way Galaxy is a member of a poor cluster
known by the unimaginative name of the Local Group
Colliding Galaxies
Galaxies should collide
fairly often. The average
separation between
galaxies is only about 20
times their diameter
Colliding Galaxies
Interacting Galaxies
Interacting galaxies can distort each other with tides producing tidal tail sand
shells of stars. They may even trigger the formation of spiral arms. In fact, large
galaxies can even absorb smaller galaxies, a process called galactic
cannibalism.
Interactions between galaxies can trigger rapid star formation
Evidence left inside galaxies in the form of motions and multiple nuclei reveals
that they have suffered past interactions and mergers.
the beautiful ring galaxies are understood to be bull’s-eyes left behind by high-
speed collisions
Assembling Galaxies
This process of galaxy assembly is still occurring today - we
see many examples of galaxies colliding and merging to
form new galaxies.
 Many billions of years from now! Scientists today know that
galaxies existed about one billion years after the Big Bang.
While most of these early galaxies were smaller and more
irregular than present-day galaxies, some are very similar to
those seen nearby today.
Active
Galactic
Nuclei
What is Active Galactic Nuclei ?
#History101
In 1950s, astronomers discovered that some galaxies, dubbed radio
galaxies , were bright at radio wavelengths. Later, when telescopes
went into orbit, these galaxies were found to be emitting energy at
other wavelengths as well, and they became known as active
galaxies . Modern observations show that the energy comes from
the nuclei of the galaxies, which are now known as active galactic
nuclei (AGN)
Seyfert Galaxies
Observing at visual wavelengths,
Seyfert found that some spiral
galaxies have small, highly luminous
nuclei with peculiar spectra .These
galaxies are now known as
Seyfert galaxies
Double-Lobed Radio Sources
• When optical telescopes studied
the locations of these radio
sources, they revealed galaxies
located between the two regions
emitting radio energy, and the
galaxies were dubbed double-
lobed radio galaxies.
Quasars
First called quasistellar objects,
they were soon referred to as
quasars because the signals
came from one place, like a star
Most quasars have been found billions of light-years away

Supermassive
Black Holes
Disks and Jets
Matter flowing inward toward a
black hole spins very fast and
becomes very hot. It spins
because it must conserve angular
momentum as it sinks inward
where it forms a flattened disk
around
The inner part of the accretion disk around a supermassive black hole
can reach temperatures of millions of degrees and emit X-rays.
The Search for a Unified Model
Astronomers studying
active galaxies have
developed a unified
model of active galaxy
cores that is well
supported by evidence.
A monster black hole is
the centerpiece
What could trigger a supermassive
black hole to erupt?
Triggering Eruptions
A sudden flood of matter flowing into the

accretion disk around a supermassive
black hole would trigger it into eruption
Supermassive Black Holes Through Time
• supermassive black holes always make up the same small

percentage (0.5 percent) of the mass of their central bulge,
astronomers conclude that the supermassive black holes
formed at the same time
• Most of the quasars and active galaxies that astronomers see
with today’s telescopes have been triggered into eruption by
the interaction and collision of galaxies, a process that throws
matter into the central black holes
In a Nutshell
Astronomy is changing you. As you learn more about
stars and galaxies and quasars, you are learning more
about yourself and your connection with nature.
“Perspective” can mean a view of things in their true
relationships. As you study astronomy, you are gaining
perspective. Our galaxy, our sun, our planet, and the
local shopping mall take on new meaning when you
think astronomically.
References
• Universe (Solar systems, Stars, and Galaxies) 7th Edition by Seeds and
Backman
• http://www.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses/astro201/hubbles_l
aw.htm
• https://jwst.nasa.gov/galaxies.html
• http://www.space.com/17262-quasar-definition.html
Mabalos!

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The

Most quasars have been found billions of light-years away

A sudden flood of matter flowing into the

• supermassive black holes always make up the same small

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