Assume the Sun is at 8 kpc from the center and the Galactic rotation curve is flat. Show all working. White dwarfs c. Suppose you had access to a radio telescope with high resolving power. Describe how you would determine the direction and speed of rotation of a nearby and well-resolved spiral galaxy.
Spiral galaxies contain large amounts of dark matter.
Suppose you observed a spiral galaxy that had no dark matter and another with lots of dark matter in a huge galctic corona. Describe one piece of observational evidence that shows that there are small dust grains in the plane of the Galaxy. Give one specific example of a discovery or measurement that was greatly hampered by the presence of the dust in the Milky Way. Discuss how 2 of the above differences are to be understood in terms of a model of the formation of the Galaxy. B4. Cepheid variables were discovered in the Magellanic Clouds at a time when the distance to the Clouds was unknown.