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Small Towns in the Cosmic Countryside: Dwarf Galaxies

with Simon Smith, UVic

abstract

Our little corner of the universe has a thriving community of galaxies - our own Milky Way galaxy is closely surrounded by a hundred or more dwarf galaxies. These are the smallest, most extreme galaxies ever discovered, and they test our best theories of galaxy formation as a whole.

In this talk, we will familiarize ourselves with some of our closest cosmic neighbours and explore the history of dwarf galaxy discovery. We will then look at cutting-edge techniques used by modern astronomers to find these minuscule galaxies, and how that task is helped along by advancements in telescope capabilities.

biography

Simon is an M.Sc. student studying Astrophysics at the University of Victoria. He is specializing in Near-Field Cosmology with a focus on dwarf galaxy detection. He received a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto in Astrophysics and Chemistry in 2021.