PHYS 118 Intro Astronomy - The Milky Way

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the Milky Way galaxy as presented in the lecture notes.

Galaxy

A massive collection of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter held together by gravity.

Milky Way

The spiral galaxy that contains our solar system.

Supermassive Black Hole

A black hole at the center of the Milky Way with a mass greater than 4 million Suns.

Population I Stars

Younger, metal-rich stars that include the Sun, formed from material processed through earlier generations.

Population II Stars

Older, metal-poor stars that formed early in the history of the galaxy.

Spiral Arms

Regions of higher density molecular clouds within the galactic disk where star formation occurs.

Interstellar Dust

Dust between stars that obscures our view of the center of the galaxy and affects light observations.

Globular Clusters

Spheroidal collections of stars bound together by gravity, usually older and found in the stellar halo.

Sagittarius A*

The energetic source of radio waves at the center of the Milky Way, believed to be a supermassive black hole.

Local Group

A collection of over 50 galaxies, including the Milky Way, Triangulum, and Andromeda.