Milky Way | The Schools' Observatory

Galaxies

A galaxy is a large collection of stars, dust and gas. They are surrounded by dark matter, and are held together by gravity.

An image of the galaxy M64. There is bright white-yellow sphere in the centre, giving off a glow. Dark brown and black clouds of dust form a pinwheel shape around the centre. Within these clouds are numerous bright white dots of stars, though some appear more blue or red in colour. There are also a few stars visible against the black background. — The spiral galaxy M64

Edwin Hubble

Occupation

Astronomer, Cosmologist

Year born

1889

Research Areas

Galaxies, Extra-galactic astronomy, Observational cosmology

A black and white photograph of Edwin Hubble. He is sat at his desk, facing the camera, holding an image of a galaxy in his hands.

Early Life

Ricardo was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His first degree in astronomy is from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Then in 1993, he got a master's degree from the Observatório Nacional in Brazil. Ricardo moved to the University of São Paulo, Brazil to work on a PhD. He was awarded his PhD in 1998.

Research Areas: Galaxy formation, Observational astronomy

"I consider myself extremely lucky to be where I am, do what I do, and to be surrounded by so many amazing people here in Liverpool."

Read more about Ricardo Schiavon

Karlie Noon

Early Life

Karlie grew up in a small town in New South Wales, Australia. Karlie is a Gomeroi women. The Gomeroi (also spelled Gamilaraay or Kamilaroi) are one of the largest Indigenous nations in Australia.

Karlie did not enjoy school, so her family arranged for elders in her community to tutor Karlie. Their teaching and mentoring helped Karlie to do well in her studies and she developed a love of maths. This support gave Karlie the confidence to continue studying science and maths. She became the first person in her family to go to university.

Research Areas: Galaxy Evolution, Indigenous Astronomy, Moon Haloes

"I never had a plan for any of this, I just followed what I was interested in and learned to ignore any critics and my own doubts along the way."