The Center for Adaptive Optics , headquartered at UCSC and funded by the National Science Foundation, is the national leader in the advancement and application of adaptive optics technology. This AAAS session brought together some of the leading researchers in the field, including three from UC Santa Cruz, to present their latest findings. His findings support the idea that the stellar halos of large galaxies like Andromeda formed through an accretion process involving mergers of smaller satellites. The evidence comes from a survey of the chemical compositions of stars in Andromeda's halo. Together, these measurements enable the researchers to determine the masses of extremely distant galaxies.
Mass measurements provide an essential link to theoretical models of galaxy formation and evolution.
Interestingly, Koo has observed some very bright galaxies with relatively low masses. He discussed the implications of these findings for theories of how galaxies are put together. Most of the galaxies in these clusters are elliptical galaxies, whereas most galaxies outside of clusters are spirals, like the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. Like Koo, Illingworth studies the motion of gas and stars within galaxies and uses that information to determine their masses. Lin, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics, will discuss the history of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way, Andromeda, and their dwarf satellites.