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The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds as Laboratories for Sustainable Starbirth 8.11.2024

This composite image shows the star-forming region 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula. The background image, taken in the infrared, is itself a composite: it was captured by the HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), shows bright stars and light, pinkish clouds of hot gas. The bright red-yellow streaks that have been superimposed on the image come from radio observations taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), revealing regions of cold, dense gas which have the potential to collapse and form stars. The unique web-like structure of the gas clouds led astronomers to the nebula’s spidery nickname.

Friday 8 November 2024, at 18.30, at NOESIS

Lecture by Dr. Dr. Aliki Maravelia
President of the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology

In the lecture, the speaker will present a simplified introduction to the nature and structure of both Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies of the Milky Way.

After a brief historical and astronomical introduction, the basic structure and evolution of both galaxies will be described, as well as their position in the Local Group, their interactions with the Milky Way, their stellar populations and their cluster systems. Emphasis will be placed on the description of the Large Cloud, the study of the star-forming regions of which was the subject of the 1st PhD Thesis of the speaker. These regions are called Stellar Complexes and are closely related to the weak spiral structure displayed by the Large Cloud. In a popular, but thorough, way, references will be made to “stochastic self-propagating processes of star formation” (SSPSF), which proceed through density waves. The speech will close with a reference to the supernova 1987A and general conclusions, while the lecture will be accompanied by rich photographic material, taken from contemporary observations (UKST, HST, JWST, etc.). The presentation will be mainly qualitative, rather than quantitative, with reference only to minimal mathematical equations of Astrophysics, so that the wider public can understand everything with great ease.

https://www.didaktorika.gr/eadd/handle/10442/9881

For the speaker’s CV click here.

Free entrance.

Published: October 21, 2024