GALAXY: Origin, Distance, Diameter, Luminosity & Its Mass
distances
What is Galaxy?
 A vast system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust,
and dark matter bound together by gravity.
 Contains billions to trillions of stars, and their solar system.
 Comes in various shapes, such as spiral, elliptical, and
irregular.
 Galaxies ranges in size from dwarfs to super giants. the word
“galaxy” is derived from the Greek word “galaxias” meaning
“milky”, a reference to the Milky Way
Origin of Galaxy
 It is hypothesized that the galaxy formation occurred as a
result of tiny quantum fluctuations in the aftermath of BIG
BANG.
 The current widely accepted cosmological model is the
Lambda-CDM model, which stands for Lambda Cold Dark
Matter.
 As the universe expanded, these density fluctuations were
amplified by gravitational attraction.
 Over time, regions with higher density attracted more matter
and continued to grow, eventually forming structures like
galaxies and galaxy clusters.
 The process of galaxy formation involves the collapse of gas
and dust under the influence of gravity, leading to the
formation of stars, star clusters, and other structures within
galaxies.
Distance
 Standard Candles: This method relies on the fact that if the
intrinsic brightness of an object in space is known, its distance
can be estimated from how bright it appears from Earth.
Cepheid variables and supernovae are examples of standard
candles used for this purpose.
 Redshift: Astronomers measure the speed of a galaxy by
analyzing the shift in the galaxy's light towards the red end of
its light spectrum. Once the speed is known, they can work out
its distance.
 Surface Brightness Fluctuations (SBF): This is a special
method used to measure the distance to galaxies. It involves
comparing the apparent brightness of galaxies at different
 Parallax: Is the apparent displacement or the difference in
apparent direction of an object as seen from two different
points. By measuring the apparent shift of a star against the
background as the Earth orbits the Sun, astronomers can
calculate the distance to the star. This method is based on the
principle of triangulation, using the orbit of the Earth around
the Sun as the baseline for the calculations.
Diameter
Astronomers measure the size of galaxies, including the Milky Way,
using various methods. One conventional way is to measure the
galaxy's diameter by summing up the total light from the galaxy
through a large aperture, defining the diameter as the size enclosing
half of the total light. This method involves determining the galaxy's
distance, often using variable stars such as Cepheid variables, whose
luminosity changes with time, to calculate the galaxy's diameter.
Additionally, astronomers can use surface brightness fluctuations and
the color of a galaxy to calculate its distance, which in turn helps
determine its size.
Luminosity
 The luminosity of a galaxy refers to the total amount of energy
it emits per unit of time. It is a measure of the intrinsic
brightness of the galaxy and is an important characteristic
used by astronomers to understand the energetics and
properties of galaxies.
 The luminosity of a galaxy encompasses the combined
emission from various sources within the galaxy, including
stars, gas, dust, and, in some cases, active galactic nuclei.
Different components contribute to the overall luminosity in
different wavelengths, from optical and infrared to radio and X-
ray.
 Elliptical galaxies generally have lower luminosities than spiral
galaxies, and certain types of galaxies, like active galaxies and
quasars, can have extremely high luminosities.
 Astronomers use various methods, including photometry,
spectroscopy, and scaling relations, to measure or estimate
the luminosity of galaxies. Understanding the luminosity of
galaxies is crucial for studying their physical properties,
 formation, evolution, and their role in the large-scale structure  Advances in technology and observational capabilities,
of the universe. including large telescopes and sophisticated instruments,
continue to refine our understanding of the mass distribution in
Apparent Luminosity galaxies.
This is the observed brightness of a galaxy as seen from Earth.
Apparent luminosity depends on the distance between the galaxy and
the observer. Two galaxies with the same intrinsic luminosity can
appear different in brightness if they are at different distances.
Absolute Luminosity
This refers to the genuine, inherent brightness of a galaxy, regardless
of how far it is from the observer. Absolute luminosity serves as a
consistent gauge of the total energy emitted by a galaxy.
Mass
 Measuring the mass of galaxies is a complex task because it
involves estimating the total amount of matter within a galaxy,
including both visible matter (stars, gas, and dust) and invisible
or dark matter.
 The mass of the Milky Way, for example, is estimated to be
about 1.5 trillion solar masses, with as much as 95% of this
mass consisting of dark matter that emits no electromagnetic
radiation
 The mass of a galaxy can be determined through various
methods, such as measuring the orbital motion of stars within
the galaxy.
For spiral galaxies, the rotation curve is used to measure their
masses, as the orbital speeds of stars and gas in the galaxy
depend on their distance from the galaxy's center.
 Additionally, the mass of a galaxy can be inferred from the
motion of objects around it, such as globular clusters, and from
the distribution of mass in the galaxy's halo.
 It's important to note that a significant portion of a galaxy's
mass is often in the form of dark matter, which does not emit,
absorb, or reflect light and is thus challenging to detect
directly.
 Consequently, estimates of galactic mass involve a
combination of observational techniques and theoretical
models.