Galactic astronomy

Galactic astronomy is the study of the Milky Way

galaxy and all its contents. This is in contrast to
extragalactic astronomy, which is the study of
everything outside our galaxy, including all other
galaxies.

Galactic astronomy should not be confused with

galaxy formation and evolution, which is the general
study of galaxies, their formation, structure,
components, dynamics, interactions, and the range of
forms they take.

The Milky Way galaxy, where the Solar System is

located, is in many ways the best-studied galaxy,
although important parts of it are obscured from view
in visible wavelengths by regions of cosmic dust. The
development of radio astronomy, infrared astronomy
and submillimetre astronomy in the 20th century An artist's conception of the Milky Way
allowed the gas and dust of the Milky Way to be
mapped for the first time.

Subcategories
A standard set of subcategories is used by astronomical journals to split up the subject of Galactic
Astronomy:[1]

1. abundances – the study of the location of elements heavier than helium

2. bulge – the study of the bulge around the center of the Milky Way
3. center – the study of the central region of the Milky Way
4. disk – the study of the Milky Way disk (the plane upon which most galactic objects are
aligned)
5. evolution – the evolution of the Milky Way
6. formation – the formation of the Milky Way
7. fundamental parameters – the fundamental parameters of the Milky Way (mass, size etc.)
8. globular cluster – globular clusters within the Milky Way
9. halo – the large halo around the Milky Way
10. kinematics, and dynamics – the motions of stars and clusters
11. nucleus – the region around the black hole at the center of the Milky Way (Sagittarius A*)
12. open clusters and associations – open clusters and associations of stars
13. Solar neighborhood – nearby stars
14. stellar content – numbers and types of stars in the Milky Way
15. structure – the structure (spiral arms etc.)

Stellar populations
Star clusters
Globular clusters
Open clusters

Interstellar medium
Interplanetary space - Interplanetary medium - interplanetary dust
Interstellar space - Interstellar medium - interstellar dust
Intergalactic space - Intergalactic medium - Intergalactic dust

See also
Galaxy
Milky Way
Extragalactic astronomy

References
1. "Galactic Astronomy - Subcategories | The English knowledge database" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20171222051555/https://science-train.com/w/Galactic_astronomy/Subcategories.
html). science-train.com. Archived from the original (https://science-train.com/w/Galactic_astr
onomy/Subcategories.html) on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2017-12-20.

External links
Mapping the hydrogen gas in the Milky Way (https://web.archive.org/web/20050508022853/
http://aanda.u-strasbg.fr:2002/articles/aas/full/1997/18/ds1364/ds1364.html)

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