Properties of Galaxies
• Distance
– Use Cepheid Variables for close objects
– Other objects for which Absolute Magnitude is know:
• Supernova
• Planetary nebula in certain emission lines
– Use “Hubble Law” for more distant objects
• (Correlation of distance with radial velocity)
• Diameter and Luminosity
– Obtain from angular size and magnitude, combined with distance
• Mass
– Rotation curves
– Velocity dispersion
– 90 to 99% of mass is
“dark matter”