Prelude: The Galactic and Cosmological Toolbox

• the big picture
• we want to understand galaxies like this and this and this
• we also want to understand a universe like this and this and this
• A big job! we need the right tools

Lightning Review of Light

• electromagnetic radiation
• electromagnetic spectrum
• photons: energy, momentum; momentum at work
• flux
• blackbody radiation
• Wien's law
  
  • infrared gallery
  • multiwavelength galaxy M104
• thermal radiation
  • blackbodies and Planck / thermal spectrum; spectrum simulator
  • Wien's law; toasty example
  • Stefan-Boltzmann law