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Huchra’s Playground. Little Galaxies that Shouldn’t Exist or The Nature of Markarian Galaxies and Studies of Star Formation in Blue Galaxies. Once Upon a Time. We lived in a world of single channel detectors i.e. ONE PIXEL (aperture)
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Huchra’s Playground Little Galaxies that Shouldn’t Exist or The Nature of Markarian Galaxies and Studies of Star Formation in Blue Galaxies
Once Upon a Time • We lived in a world of single channel detectors i.e. ONE PIXEL (aperture) • Sometimes nights were cold because there were no Warm Rooms and no Email • Analog detectors were required. Analog finder charts were used (gasp!) • By 1981 observational astronomy was transitioning to the digital world • JPH: a single channel photometry and spectra pioneer in terms of technique (and tenacity)
Markarian Galaxies • Selected by having an unusually strong UV continuum • Ah, says Huchra, an intrinsically interesting sample because they will have Emission Lines – John loved emission line spectra – absorption lines are boring, emission lines means physics is happening
A Diverse Array of Objects • From the most massive to the least massive galaxies we know; all in one list. • Give JPH a list and he was obsessive – a required trait for an observer. • His thesis work is likely the first large scale integration of galaxy photometry and modeling to determine a star formation history • JPH found starbursts before we knew to call them starburst galaxies. (Pasadena Bar: 1975 …)
Enigmatic Properties of the Low Mass Markarian Galaxies • Many of these properties are not well understood or today: Discovery Remains • The isolated Extragalactic HII region is one of the most interesting objects in the Universe. • Starburst rates are so large that these Galaxies have already consumed themselves – they shouldn’t be here • Some are so blue (in V-K) that they have no old stars; Some are the most metal poor objects discovered to date
Huchra’ Legacy • Worked on Interesting large scale problems • The Markarian list observations rewarded him with a vast array of new data that’s stimulating and a reminder about discovery • He then carried that stimulation on to the Galaxy redshift survey, the enormously successful work with Geller on groups and clusters, and the work with Aaronson, Huchra and Mould Huchra Was Here First