Physics of galaxies and cosmology

Research topics

Publications in ADS

The employees of the department

An exciting time has arrived to study the general characteristics of the universe. High-quality data is collected on an unprecedentedly large scale using a wide variety of ground-based and space-borne telescopes and detectors. The collected data allows us to address the most fundamental and exciting questions in physics: the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the properties of the early universe, and the formation of structures in the universe at various scales, from galaxies to the most extensive known formations - galactic superclusters and filaments.

Galaxies are the largest single objects in the universe. Some of the most important processes in the universe occur in galaxies: the circulation of cosmic matter from gas to stars and back, and the enrichment of matter with various chemical elements. In Tartu Observatory we research the structure and composition of nearby and distant galaxies. We also study how neighboring galaxies influence the formation of galaxies and the general distribution of matter around galaxies. Recently, we have focused on disc-bulge separation of galaxies and investigated the dependence of galaxy properties in the large-scale structure.

Projects

Publications

For students

Students have the opportunity to attend courses in cosmology and galactic physics, come for an internship, or find a thesis topic and supervisor in this department.

Courses in astrophysics

The Department of Galaxy Physics and Cosmology at Tartu Observatory is engaged in the study of large-scale structures in the Universe. Our department's faculty teaches various courses related to galaxy physics and cosmology. Explore all the lecture courses offered by the Tartu Observatory at the link below.

Learn more

EXOHOST Seminar: Prof. Sara Seager "Planetary Atmospheres and the Search for Signs of Life Beyond Earth"

Join us for a captivating EXOHOST seminar featuring Professor Sara Seager, a leading authority on exoplanets and our very own EXOHOST advisory board member!
Tartu observatooriumi teaduskonverents - Tartu Ülikool

On 27 March, Tartu Observatory will hold a scientific conference

4-year PhD position in space research and technology: Retrieval of leaf angle distribution information from multi-angle remote sensing data

This doctoral thesis will devise, test, and implement a novel methodology exploiting multi-angle sensors to retrieve leaf angle distribution (LAD).