DOCSLIB.ORG

ESO and the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Opening Ceremony

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
ESO and the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Opening Ceremony Astronomical News that LPs make use of an expensive The workshop overall was very success- complement the current arsenal of pro- resource and that they have to provide ful and clarified the need for, and the gramme types undertaken with ESO additional benefits for the community. competitive edge of, Large Programmes facilities at the upper end. It is planned to This has led to the requirement that at ESO facilities. The increased demand monitor their success in another work- reduced data from LPs, once published, for the 3.6-metre telescope after the shop in a few years time. should be returned to the ESO Archive time limit for LPs was raised to four years so that they can be used by other astron- speaks for itself. There are some very omers, possibly for different purposes. substantial programmes in progress, References The large investment by the community which will keep this telescope busy for Wagner, S. & Leibundgut, B. 2004, The Messenger, into LPs should justify this modest return. years to come. 115, 41 There was a lively discussion on how this return should be achieved and Beyond the Large Programmes, the Pub- whether it would put astronomers using lic Surveys with VISTA and VST will Notes ESO facilities at a disadvantage com- start during this year and next year. These 1 http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/LP2008/program. pared to users of private observatories. will be truly massive projects, which html ESO and the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Opening Ceremony Pedro Russo1 2 Figure 1. Catherine Cesarky, IAU President, Lars Lindberg Christensen1 addressing the audience during the IYA2009 Opening Ceremony Douglas Pierce-Price1 Yours to Discover”. The IYA2009 marks 1 ESO the 400th anniversary of the first astro- 2 International Astronomical Union nomical observation through a telescope Credit: IAU/Jose Francisco Salgado by Galileo Galilei. Proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) and endorsed by the The ESO contributions to the Interna- International Council for Science, the tional Year of Astronomy 2009 and IYA2009 has already captured the imagi- the Opening Ceremony, held in Paris in nation of countless individuals. The aim January 2009, are summarised. of the IYA2009 is to stimulate worldwide interest, especially among young people, “The International Year of Astronomy in astronomy and science. Events and 2009 is an important step in furthering the activities will promote a greater apprecia- interest of the public in what is arguably tion of the inspirational aspects of astron- the oldest of all sciences: astronomy.” omy that ESO is keen to foster. ESO Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, on the United Nations proclaiming 2009 as The opening ceremony of IYA2009 was the International Year of Astronomy. held in Paris, on 15–16 January, 2009, under the aegis of the UN, UNESCO and Few areas of science touch on as many the IAU. The ceremony itself featured key- topics of interest for the general public interest means that many organisations, note speeches, research findings, an as astronomy. For countless thousands such as ESO, invest in outreach initiatives. exhibition and also social aspects. About of years, eyes have gazed up at the 900 people attended, among them heavens and wondered; it could be The year 2009 has been launched by the eminent scientists, including Nobel Laure- argued that everyone is born an astrono- International Astronomical Union (IAU) and ates, and also around 100 young students mer. Modern astronomy is a highly pro- the United Nations Educational, Scientific from individual countries. The ceremony fessional field, but is not exclusively the and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as was very well received, and the quality of domain of specialised scientists. The sky the International Year of Astronomy 2009 talks highly praised. The enthusiasm of all is a shared resource and intense public (IYA2009) under the theme “The Universe, involved shone through, and proved that 54 The Messenger 135 – March 2009 Credit: IAU/Lee Pullen Credit: ESO/D. Pierce-Price Figure 4. The Interna- tional Year of Astronomy 2009 logo. Figure 3. The ESO exhibition took prominent posi- coordinate a 24-hour webcast from tion in the display room. research observatories; the Cosmic Diary, a blog that gives the public insight into the Paranal in Chile. This was a rare opportu- lives of professional astronomers; and the nity for the audience to join astronomers Portal to the Universe, a global one-stop Figure 2. A video link with Paranal made a big impres- at work in the VLT control room, towards website for online astronomy content. sion on the audience. Here, ESO Director General Tim the end of the Chilean night. Christophe de Zeeuw is seen talking to Christophe Dumas on the big screen, live from the VLT Control Room. Dumas, head of the Science Operations The IYA2009 Secretariat at ESO HQ is the Department at the VLT, discussed the central hub of the IAU’s implementation the IYA2009 has already gained plenty of night’s observations and shared a recent of the IYA2009, and was established to momentum to help popularise astronomy image from the telescope. You can watch coordinate activities during the planning, throughout 2009, and beyond. this on the IYA2009 Opening Ceremony execution and evaluation of IYA2009. The video archive1. IYA2009 science writer, secretariat liaises continuously with the Lee Pullen, kept a “Cosmic Diary Live- — currently 137 — national nodes, task ESO’s contribution to the ceremony Blog” during the ceremony. This diary of groups, partners and organisational asso- events was regularly updated, and fol- ciates, the media and the general public ESO held an exhibition at the UNESCO lowed by people in over 130 countries. to ensure the progress of IYA2009 at all headquarters in Paris as part of the open- levels. The secretariat is staffed by Pedro ing ceremony. The exhibition presented Russo, the IYA2009 coordinator, IYA2009 information about ESO’s role in astronomy ESO’s commitment to public outreach assistant Mariana Barrosa and is man- and the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the and to IYA2009 aged by Lars Lindberg Christensen, head European Extremely Large Telescope of ESO’s education and Public Outreach (E-ELT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/ Since plans for IYA2009 were first laid in Department. ESO’s own organisational submillimeter Array (ALMA) projects. A 2003, ESO has played a major role in IYA2009 contact is Douglas Pierce-Price. scale model of the E-ELT complemented the project. ESO is hosting the IYA2009 the exhibition. The official IYA2009 bro- Secretariat for the International Astronom- Astronomy is one of the oldest fundamen- chure, an E-ELT brochure, and “Eyes on ical Union, which coordinates the activi- tal sciences, yet continues to make a the Skies” DVDs were available for visitors. ties globally. ESO is one of the Organisa- profound impact on our culture and is a tional Associates of IYA2009, and was powerful expression of the human intel- The afternoon session on Thursday, 15 also closely involved in the resolution sub- lect. 2009 is the year in which individuals January, was chaired by the ESO Director mitted to the UN by Italy, which led to the and organisations can make a difference General Tim de Zeeuw. The session saw 62nd General Assembly of the UN pro- by popularising astronomy as never before two fascinating talks: “The New Frontier: claiming 2009 as the International Year of and really “bring the Universe down to The Exploration of the Solar System” Astronomy. Earth”. ESO’s presence at the opening by André Brahic; and “Echoes of Creation: ceremony shows our commitment to this Discovery of the Big Bang Fossil Radia- In addition to a wide array of activities grand aim. tion”, by Nobel Laureate Robert Wilson. planned both at the local and international A highlight on Friday, 16 January, was Tim level, ESO is leading three of the eleven de Zeeuw’s overview of ESO activities global Cornerstone projects. These are Notes and the live video conference from the 100 Hours of Astronomy, a worldwide 1 http://www.astronomy2009.org/webcast auditorium in Paris to ESO’s VLT on Cerro observing marathon during which ESO will The Messenger 135 – March 2009 55.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • ESO to Build World's Biggest Eye on the Sky 11 June 2012
    ESO to build world's biggest eye on the sky 11 June 2012 36/) and Switzerland voted in favour of the start of the E-ELT programme. Four further countries voted in favour ad referendum: Belgium, Finland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The remaining four Member States are actively working towards joining the programme in the near future. Following the resolution, spending on elements of the project other than the initial civil works will not commence until the contributions pledged by the Member States, as agreed in the funding principles Artist's impression of the European Extremely Large approved by Council in late 2011, exceed 90% of Telescope (E-ELT) in its enclosure on Cerro Armazones, the 1083 million euro cost-to-completion (at 2012 a 3060-metre mountaintop in Chile's Atacama Desert. The 39.3-meter E-ELT will be the largest optical/infrared prices). telescope in the world -- the world's biggest eye on the sky. Operations are planned to start early in the next On the current schedule the first large E-ELT decade, and the E-ELT will tackle some of the biggest industrial contracts would have to be approved and scientific challenges of our time. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada major funding committed within the next year. This is expected to provide sufficient time for the conditions to be satisfied: the confirmations of the votes from Belgium, Finland, Italy, and the United ESO's governing body, the Council, met today, at Kingdom; other Member States to join the project; the ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany.
    [Show full text]
  • Libro Resumen Sea2016v55 0.Pdf
    2 ...................................................................................................................................... 4 .................................................................................................. 4 ........................................................................................................... 4 PATROCINADORES .................................................................................................................... 5 RESUMEN PROGRAMA GENERAL ............................................................................................ 7 PLANO BIZKAIA ARETOA .......................................................................................................... 8 .......................................................................................... 9 CONFERENCIAS PLENARIAS ................................................................................................... 14 ............................................................................................. 19 ................................................................................................ 21 ............... 23 CIENCIAS PLANETARIAS ......................................................................................................... 25 - tarde ....................................................................................................... 25 - ............................................................................................ 28 - tarde ................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Recent Results from the SAURON Galaxy Survey Tim De Zeeuw
    Recent Results from the SAURON Galaxy Survey Tim de Zeeuw European Southern Observatory Abstract Much world-wide effort is devoted to the study of the formation and evolution of galaxies, ranging from observations of the most distant objects in the early Universe to detailed analysis of the motions of individual stars in the Milky Way, combined with theoretical work and numerical simulations. Integral field spectroscopy makes it possible to measure the motions en physical properties of stellar populations in nearby galaxies, and to determine the properties of the supermassive black holes in their centres. A representative survey of nearby early-type galaxies and spiral bulges with SAURON, a panoramic integral-field spectrograph custom-built for the UK/NL/E 4.2m William Herschel Telescope on La Palma, reveals a fascinating diversity of properties. The stellar and gaseous kinematics and the line-strength distributions provide the intrinsic shape of the galaxies, their orbital structure, the mass-to-light ratio as a function of radius, the frequency and structure of kinematically decoupled cores, the masses of nuclear black holes, and the relation between orbital structure and the age and metallicity of the stellar populations. This 'fossil record' gives key insight into the galaxy formation process. The talk will summarize recent results of the SAURON survey, and briefly discuss the next steps. Resume Tim de Zeeuw received his PhD degree from Leiden University. He worked at the Institute for Advanced Study and Caltech before returning to Leiden as professor of astronomy. His research focuses on the formation, structure and dynamics of galaxies. He directed the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy and Leiden Observatory, and served on oversight committees for AURA, ESA, ESO and NASA.
    [Show full text]
  • ESO@50 — the First 50 Years of ESO Held at ESO Headquarters, Garching, Germany, 3–7 September 2012
    Astronomical News Report on the Workshop ESO@50 — The First 50 Years of ESO held at ESO Headquarters, Garching, Germany, 3–7 September 2012 Jeremy Walsh1 Young stars and planets Transients Eric Emsellem1 Michael West1 ESO’s next major milestone, the Atacama Steven Smartt (Belfast) summarised Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array detection and follow-up surveys for bright (ALMA) featured strongly in the first few transients which have recently begun at 1 ESO talks. Some of the first Cycle 0 results La Silla Observatory. The La Silla–QUEST in young stars and star-forming regions survey (see Baltay et al., p. 34) produces were presented by Leonardo Testi (ESO) transient alerts within days and these In recognition of the 50th anniversary where the high spatial resolution and sen- are followed up spectroscopically by the of the signing of the ESO Convention, a sitivity of ALMA will bring many ad vances. Public ESO Survey of Transient Objects special science workshop was held at The field of astrochemistry was covered (PESSTO) with EFOSC on the New Tech- ESO Headquarters in Garching to focus by Ewine van Dishoeck (Leiden), con- nology Telescope (NTT). on the main scientific topics where centrating on very high spectral resolution, ESO has made important contributions, including some ALMA spectra from pro- The Very Large Telescope (VLT) was very from Solar System astronomy to funda­ toplanetary discs, demonstrating the well timed for the beginning of the era mental physics, and to provide a per­ potential for finding new species (up to of observations of gamma-ray burst after- spective for future scientific challenges.
    [Show full text]
  • European Extremely Large Telescope Site Chosen 26 April 2010
    European Extremely Large Telescope site chosen 26 April 2010 and may, eventually, revolutionise our perception of the Universe, much as Galileo's telescope did 400 years ago. The final go-ahead for construction is expected at the end of 2010, with the start of operations planned for 2018. The decision on the E-ELT site was taken by the ESO Council, which is the governing body of the This night-time panorama shows Cerro Armazones in Organisation composed of representatives of the Chilean desert, near ESO's Paranal Observatory, ESO's fourteen Member States, and is based on an site of the Very Large Telescope. Cerro Armazones was extensive comparative meteorological investigation, chosen as the site for the planned European Extremely which lasted several years. The majority of the data Large Telescope, which, with its 42-meter diameter collected during the site selection campaigns will be mirror, will be the world’s biggest eye on the sky. Credit: ESO/S. Brunier made public in the course of the year 2010. Various factors needed to be considered in the site selection process. Obviously the "astronomical On April 26, 2010, the ESO Council selected Cerro quality" of the atmosphere, for instance, the number Armazones as the baseline site for the planned of clear nights, the amount of water vapour, and the 42-meter European Extremely Large Telescope (E- "stability" of the atmosphere (also known as seeing) ELT). Cerro Armazones is a mountain at an played a crucial role. But other parameters had to altitude of 3060 meters in the central part of Chile's be taken into account as well, such as the costs of Atacama Desert, some 130 kilometers south of the construction and operations, and the operational town of Antofagasta and about 20 kilometers from and scientific synergy with other major facilities Cerro Paranal, home of ESO's Very Large (VLT/VLTI, VISTA, VST, ALMA and SKA etc).
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report 2011 Facts and Figures of 2011
    Annual report 2011 Facts and figures of 2011 3 Awards or grants 112 refereed articles 157 employees 9 press releases Funding: € 30.446.230 Expenditure: € 30.482.073 Balance: € -35.843 Contents Director’s report 3 ASTRON in brief 5 Performance indicators 9 Astronomy Group 13 Radio Observatory 21 R&D Laboratory 27 Connected legal entities 33 NOVA Optical/ Infrared Instrumentation Group 35 JIVE 39 Outreach and Education 43 Appendix 1: Financial summary 53 Appendix 2: Personnel highlights 54 Appendix 3: Board, Committees and Staff 56 Appendix 4: Publications 58 Appendix 5: Earning capacity 76 Appendix 6: Abbreviations 78 Cover photo: impression of the dense aperture arrays for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Credits: Swinburne Astronomy Productions. 2 ASTRON Annual report 2011 Report 2011 was another great year for ASTRON. The highlight was undoubtedly the evaluation of the institute by a panel of international experts, chaired by Prof. Catherine Cesarsky. The panel judged ASTRON to be excellent in all possible categories - at the overall institute level and in each of our departments - Astronomy Group, Radio Observatory and Research &Development. Director’s In this year, the output in astronomy continued its enviable track-record in doubling research continued to grow - not only in the base budget received from NWO through terms of publications and impact, but also competitive grants and contracts - maintaining in connecting ASTRON to the outside world, this approach will be key to ASTRON’s future and in particular NOVA and the university success, especially in the coming years. Outwith groups in the Netherlands. LOFAR began ASTRON, the SKA project made progress with to produce its first scientific results and leaps and bounds.
    [Show full text]
  • Profile of Ewine F. Van Dishoeck
    PROFILE Profile of Ewine F. van Dishoeck he infinite vastness of space, pleasant conversation, he invited van the infinitesimal compactness of Dishoeck to study with him at Harvard a single molecule; comprehend- for a few months, which she did in 1980 ing the size of either object can after receiving her master’s degree in Tbe mind-boggling, and understanding chemistry from Leiden. ‘‘And that pe- the nature of either can be a life’s work. riod was enough for the Dutch authori- Yet for the past 25 years, astrophysicist ties to give me a grant to do research in Ewine van Dishoeck has made a career this field, even though there wasn’t for- of bridging the gap between space and mally a professor in that field,’’ she says. the single molecule. As Professor of Molecular Astrophysics at the University East to West Coast of Leiden (Leiden, The Netherlands) as Upon completing her Ph.D. thesis on well as director of Leiden’s Raymond photodissociation and excitation of in- and Beverly Sackler Laboratory for As- terstellar molecules in 1984, van Disho- trophysics, van Dishoeck has spent her eck received one of Harvard’s Society of career studying the chemistry and evolu- Fellows positions, which allowed her to tion of the myriad molecules sprinkled continue her research in Dalgarno’s lab- throughout the universe. oratory, where she had made frequent Of particular interest to her are inter- visits while completing her degree. The stellar clouds, regions that appear jet opportunity presented a small problem, black in optical wavelengths but are however, in that de Zeeuw, whom she densely packed with the raw materials had recently married, received a fellow- that give birth to stars and planets.
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy's Bright Future 2 March 2009
    Astronomy's bright future 2 March 2009 To mark UNESCO's International Year of As Tim de Zeeuw, Director of the European Astronomy (IYA2009), six leading astronomers Southern Observatory, writes, "Technological from the UK, the US, Europe and Asia write in developments now make it possible to observe March's Physics World about the biggest planets orbiting other stars, peer deeper than ever challenges and opportunities facing international into the universe, use particles and gravitational astronomers over the next couple of decades. waves to study celestial sources, and to carry out in situ exploration of objects in our solar system. This Many of those challenges are purely scientific, promises tremendous progress towards answering including the quest to clarify the true nature of dark key astronomical questions." matter and dark energy; the search for extra- terrestrial life among the myriad of extrasolar But, as Seok Jae Park, President of the Korea planets that are set to be discovered; and finding Astronomy and Space Science Institute, says, "The the first stars that formed after the Big Bang. greatest challenge for astronomy is international collaboration, because building big and expensive Other challenges are political - including the need telescopes can no longer be accomplished by a for mass international collaboration to fund and single country alone. It is my hope that IYA2009 will manage astronomical facilities, many of which are enable astronomers from around the world to being so large and expensive that no single create a new tradition of cooperation in country can afford them alone. For example, the astronomy." Atacama Large Millimeter Array, which is being built in Chile, involves astronomers from the UK, Catherine Cesarsky, President of the International US and Japan.
    [Show full text]
  • Celebrating Fifty Years of ESO in Chile
    Astronomical News Celebrating Fifty Years of ESO in Chile Fernando Comerón1 Figure 1. Many staff and Tim de Zeeuw1 their families attended the 50th anniversary celebration event at the ESO premises in Vita- 1 ESO cura in Santiago. The fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the agreement between the Govern- ment of Chile and ESO to set up a new observatory occurred on 6 Novem- ber 2013. The anniversary was marked by a formal occasion in Santiago, more informal celebrations at all the ESO sites in Chile and by visits from two European astronauts. A round-up of the anniversary events is presented. Figure 2. Both present The 6th of November 2013 marked the and former staff cele- brated the 50th anniver- 50th anniversary of the signing of the sary during the event at initial agreement between the Govern- Vitacura. From left to ment of Chile and the European Southern right: Erich Schumann, Observatory (ESO), which enabled ESO Jean-Michel Bonneau at back, Domingo Durán, to site its astronomical observatory in Albert Triat, Rolando northern Chile beneath its exceptionally Medina, Albert Bosker clear skies. This was a significant mile- at back, Wolfgang Eck- stone in the scientific, technical and cul- ert, Daniel Hofstadt and his wife Sonia Hofstadt, tural cooperation between Chile and the current ESO Director Europe, and the beginning of an inter- General Tim de Zeeuw, national success story that started very Óscar Orrego and Jorge shortly after the establishment of ESO Moreno. itself. It is remarkable that this celebration happened just one year after the one held in Germany in October 2012, which fully fledged observatories by ESO, by the behalf of humanity — to enable scientific marked the 50 years since the signature Association of Universities for Research research that can only be conducted effi- of the ESO convention on 5 October in Astronomy (AURA) on behalf of the US ciently from a limited number of geo- 1962 (see The Messenger 150 and Sirey National Science Foundation and by the graphical locations.
    [Show full text]
  • European Southern Observatory (ESO) Since We Last Spoke with You in 2012?
    ANALYSIS In an enlightening conversation, ESO European Director-General Professor Tim de Zeeuw catches up with International Innovation, highlighting progress made in the construction Southern and installation of new telescopes and technologies as well as some of the exciting discoveries made by researchers using these Observatory state-of-the-art instruments Could you update International Innovation on what has been happening at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) since we last spoke with you in 2012? It has been a busy and successful period! After the 50th anniversary of the organisation in 2012, the following year marked 50 years of ESO in its host country Chile, which we also celebrated. This has been a fruitful collaboration that continues to strengthen. At the end of 2012, the start of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) programme received full approval from the ESO Council. And in 2013 we inaugurated the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). ESO is one of the three international partners, along with North America and East Asia, who built and are now operating this uniquely powerful tool for studying the cool Universe. ALMA has already delivered many exciting results on the planets around nearby stars and right out to galaxies in the early Universe. At ESO’s Headquarters in Garching near Munich, the impressive new extension building was completed and inaugurated. This allows all the staff in Germany to work on a single site. In addition, ESO received a major donation from the Klaus Tschira Stiftung to build an impressive planetarium and visitor centre adjacent to the ESO buildings.
    [Show full text]
  • Download This Article in PDF Format
    A&A 625, A62 (2019) Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201834808 & c ESO 2019 Astrophysics Six new supermassive black hole mass determinations from adaptive-optics assisted SINFONI observations Sabine Thater1, Davor Krajnovic´1, Michele Cappellari2, Timothy A. Davis3, P. Tim de Zeeuw4,5, Richard M. McDermid6, and Marc Sarzi7,8 1 Leibniz-Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany e-mail: [email protected] 2 Sub-Department of Astrophysics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK 3 School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University, Queens Buildings, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK 4 Sterrewacht Leiden, Leiden University, Postbus 9513, 2300 CA Leiden, The Netherlands 5 Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), Giessenbachstrasse 1, 85748 Garching b. München, Germany 6 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia 7 Centre for Astrophysics Research, School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB, UK 8 Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG, UK Received 10 December 2018 / Accepted 22 February 2019 ABSTRACT Different massive black hole mass – host galaxy scaling relations suggest that the growth of massive black holes is entangled with the evolution of their host galaxies. The number of measured black hole masses is still limited and additional measurements are necessary to understand the underlying physics of this apparent coevolution. We add six new black hole mass (MBH) measurements of nearby fast rotating early-type galaxies to the known black hole mass sample, namely NGC 584, NGC 2784, NGC 3640, NGC 4570, −1 NGC 4281, and NGC 7049.
    [Show full text]
  • Hubble Space Telescope Optical-Near-Infrared Colors Of
    THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 546:216È222, 2001 January 1 ( 2001. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. HUBBL E SPACE T EL ESCOPE OPTICALÈNEAR-INFRARED COLORS OF NEARBY R1@4 AND EXPONENTIAL BULGES1 C. MARCELLA CAROLLO2 Columbia University, Department of Astronomy, 538 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 MASSIMO STIAVELLI Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 P. TIM DE ZEEUW Sterrewacht Leiden, Postbus 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands AND MARC SEIGAR3 AND HERWIG DEJONGHE Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Universiteit Gent, Krijgslaan 281, B-9000 Gent, Belgium Received 2000 May 16; accepted 2000 July 25 ABSTRACT We have analyzed V , H, and J Hubble Space Telescope (HST ) images for a sample of early- to late- type spiral galaxies and have reported elsewhere the statistical frequency of R1@4-law and exponential bulges in our sample as a function of Hubble type and the frequency of occurrence and structural properties of the resolved central nuclei hosted by intermediate- to late-type bulges and disks (see refer- ences in the text). Here we use these data to show the following: 1. The V [H color distribution of the R1@4 bulge peaks around SV [HT D 1.3, with a sigma *(V [H) D 0.1 mag. Assuming a solar metallicity, these values correspond to stellar ages of B6 ^ 3 Gyr. In contrast, the V [H color distribution of the exponential bulges peaks at SV [H D 0.9T and has a sigma *(V [H) D 0.4 mag. This likely implies signiÐcantly smaller ages and/or lower metallicities for (a signiÐcant fraction of the stars in) the exponential bulges compared to the R1@4-law spheroids.
    [Show full text]