The Milky Way and Beyond!

by Dr. Bob Gardner
Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
East Tennessee State University

We will take a "tour of the universe" starting here at home in our Milky Way galaxy. We will see such occupants of the interstellar medium as nebulae, open clusters, and globular clusters. The locations in the night sky of the most prominent of such objects will be pointed out. We'll then move on out of the Milky Way to visit our nearest galactic neighbors, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Pinwheel Galaxy (M33). Moving farther out, we'll see a variety of galaxies in our local cluster (the Virgo cluster), reflecting the diversity of shapes of galaxies. Finally, we'll head out to the edge of the universe and discuss such exotic topics as quasars, black holes, and the Big Bang.

  1. Welcome and Introduction
  2. Sunset
  3. Nebulae
  4. Open (or Galactic) Clusters
  5. Dying Stars
  6. Globular Clusters
  7. The Local Group of Galaxies
  8. Other Galaxies
  9. Quasars, Black Holes, and the Big Bang
  10. Conclusion and Sunrise
  11. References
  12. Some Interesting Internet Sites
  13. Slides Shown During the Show


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