Speaker Name:
Patrick Woudt
Speaker Affiliation:
Astronomy Department, UCT
Talk Subject:
Large-scale dynamics of galaxies: From the Great Attractor to the Shapley supercluster
Date:
05/14/2008 - 13:00
Venue:
Postgraduate Seminar Room, Otto Beit Building
The observed velocity flow field of galaxies in the nearby Universe is largely dominated by the Great Attractor and the ~3 times more distant Shapley supercluster. Both are extended overdensities in the large-scale mass distribution of the local Universe and both are thought to contribute significantly to the peculiar motion of the Local Group. The relative contribution of the Great Attractor and the Shapley supercluster to the motion of the Local Group remains poorly determined and is still a matter of debate. In this colloquium I will present an overview of Great Attractor and the Shapley supercluster, and outline our efforts to determine the dynamical impact of the Great Attractor on galaxies in the local Universe.