Place: Hector Deluca Forum Room, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
Speaker: Eva Grebel, University of Heidelberg
Abstract: How did galaxies in the universe evolve with cosmic time? Astronomers address this issue in part by observing the faint light from distant, young galaxies and in part by exploring the details preserved by stars of different ages in nearby galaxies. Professor Grebel will take us on a cosmic journey that reveals a continuously changing universe where galaxies are not viewed as isolated "island universe" but rather as gregarious systems that evolve through interactions with their neighbors. Even our own Milky Way has cannibalized some of its smaller companions, and in the distant future our Galaxy will collide with the closest neighboring spiral, the Andromeda galaxy.