P10: Interacting Galaxy Colours

Observing Goals:

In this project you will observe the colours in as many broad band filters as possible of interacting galaxies or interacting galaxy systems. You may also wish to observe in H_alpha to identify additional features. Useful Background and References:

Observation Planning:

  • Observation Time

    • You will be observing HALF a night.

  • Target Selection:

    • You should select an interacting system of galaxies that are of an appropriate size and brightness for your observing system. (Examples may include M51 or the Leo Triplet)

    • You should observe standard star fields in the same filters so that you are able to calibrate your results.

  • Observations:

    • You should take multiple observations so that you are able to create images that are as deep as possible, in as many filters as possible.

    • If you dither (shift) the telescope between observations, you are also better able to remove effects of the observing system for deeper images.

Data Analysis:

  • Data Reduction Basic Steps

  • Further for this project

    • For each filter, you should align and comine the images to produce the highest signal to noise images that you can.

  • Further Analysis for this project

    • Use your standard star fields to calibrate the magnitudes observed for each galaxy.

    • Along with the individual filter images, you should produce colour maps in every pair of filters. (e.g. B-V, V-R, etc…)

    • Using all of your data, produce a combined, full colour image of the system, that highlights colour differences.

    • Make any estimates you can of the stellar populations of each member of the system using the colour information you have found.

Results:

Can you answer these questions with your work?

  • Q1: What differences can you identify in different members of an interacting galaxy system?

  • Q2: How deep were you able to image (give numbers)? Were you able to identify any faint features that provide evidence of interaction in the system?

  • Q3: Can you say anything about stellar populations in the components? What could this mean for the system as a whole?

Presenting your results: