For one week, 150 participants from 25 countries around the world are meeting in Potsdam for the IAU 379 symposium entitled "Dynamical Masses of Local Group Galaxies". The objective is important : to determine the mass of galaxies in our cosmic neighborhood.
What are the masses and sizes of galaxies in the local universe ?
This simple question still has no answer. Yet it has a significant impact on our understanding of the origin of galaxies, and more particularly on the evolutionary history of our close cosmic neighborhood, the local group - composed of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy and a plethora of smaller dwarf galaxies.
Measuring the mass of a galaxy is not easy and can lead to controversial results depending on the methods, assumptions, and data available.
However, in recent years, this very active field of research has seen major developments, especially thanks to new observational data from missions such as those of the Gaia satellite, which has been mapping the Milky Way in 3D for nearly 10 years
The International Astronomical Union symposium proposes a complete overview of these issues : participants will discuss methods, observations and results, and will discuss future projects.
| Symposium of the International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU) promotes astronomy through international cooperation. To this end, it organizes numerous scientific conferences and convenes nine international symposia each year. Called "scientific flagships", these aim to significantly advance the field by seeking answers to current key questions and/or clarifying emerging concepts. |
To be continued }
For the general public, the organizers at the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam plan to record a series of outreach videos during the meeting, which will give an overview of the work and life of astronomers, as well as advice to (potential) students.