Springer Publication: "From the Realm of the Nebulae to Populations of Galaxies - Dialogues on a Century of Research", 2016, D'Onofrio, Mauro, Rampazzo, Roberto, Zaggia, Simone (Eds.).
Book Overview:
In order to outline possible future directions in galaxy research, this book wants to be a short stopover, a moment of self-reflection of the past century of achievements in this area.
Since the pioneering years of galaxy research in the early 20th century, the research on galaxies has seen a relentless advance directly connected to the parallel exponential growth of new technologies.
Through a series of interviews with distinguished astronomers the editors provide a snapshot of the achievements obtained in understanding galaxies. While many initial questions about their nature have been addressed, many are still open and require new efforts to achieve a solution. The discussions may reveal paradigms worthwhile revisiting. With the help of some of those scientists who have contributed to it, the editors sketch the history of this scientific journey and ask them for inspirations for future directions of galaxy research.
Chapter: The Anatomy of Galaxies
Chapter Overview:
Just after WWII Astronomy started to live its “Golden Age”, not differently to many other sciences and human activities, especially in the west side countries. The improved resolution of telescopes and the appearance of new efficient light detectors (e.g. CCDs in the middle eighty) greatly impacted the extragalactic researches. The first morphological analysis of galaxies were rapidly substituted by “anatomic” studies of their structural components, star and gas content, and in general by detailed investigations of their properties. As for the human anatomy, where the final goal was that of understanding the functionality of the organs that are essential for the life of the body, galaxies were dissected to discover their basic structural components and ultimately the mystery of their existence.
Contributing Author: Alister W. Graham
Graham's interview occurs in Chapter 4, with chapter title "The Anatomy of Galaxies".
His interview can be found on pages 338-351 (with references at the end of the Chapter).