Abstract
As in any kind of astronomy beyond our own solar system, examining galaxies confines us to extremely remote sensing. This means gleaning whatever we can from the radiation reaching us across space, using whatever clues our knowledge of physics gives. The measurable quantities are limited: from a given piece of sky, we can specify the amount of radiation per second at each wavelength and its polarization state, and for an object resolved by the telescope, we can measure this for many points within it to build up an image. If the galaxy’s distance can be estimated, and the effects of intervening material can be accounted for, this gives us a remarkable range of information on size, luminosity, mass, kinds, and ages of component stars.
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Bibliography
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(2007). Measuring galaxies. In: The Road to Galaxy Formation. Springer Praxis Books. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72535-0_4
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