Computer Science
Scientific paper
Jul 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000hst..prop.8751r&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #8751
Computer Science
Hst Proposal Id #8751 Stellar Populations
Scientific paper
We propose to compare the age of the Galactic nucleus population with metal rich globular clusters that are known to be ~ 12 Gyr old. The Galactic nucleus fields lie behind 10-30 magnitudes of visual extinction, but are now well imaged to the main sequence turnoff thanks to NICMOS. Preliminary reductions of fields some 10-20 arcmin from the Galactic Center clearly reveal a red clump population some 3.5 mag brighter than a clearly detected turnoff. These reductions suggest that the nucleus, even within 20 pc, is dominated by an old stellar population. We propose to produce color- magnitude diagrams and luminosity functions for archival NICMOS images of fields lying 20 arcmin, 1^degrees, 2^degrees, and 3^degrees from the Galactic Center, and to compare these to the old Galactic globular cluster NGC 6553. The luminosity functions of the bulge field population and the globular cluster can be directly compared, independent of distance modulus and reddening, by forcing both to agree at the maximum of the red clump. This method can give very precise relative ages of different bulge fields, relative to the oldest stars in the Galactic halo.
No associations
LandOfFree
The Age of the Central 100 pc of the Galaxy does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Age of the Central 100 pc of the Galaxy, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Age of the Central 100 pc of the Galaxy will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1720460