Bibcode
Aparicio, A.; Gallart, C.
Bibliographical reference
IAA-IAC-University of Pisa Workshop: The formation of the Milky Way, p. 293 - 294
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1995
Citations
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Refereed citations
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Description
The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are the largest members of the
Local Group, and their evolution is affected by the evolution of their
host as a whole. At the same time, they themselves play an important
role in the evolution of the Local Group. Considerable information can
be obtained for the Local Group, but little is known about the distances
and the full star-formation history of its galaxies. RGB and AGB stars
are the keys to trace the full star-formation history of nearby
galaxies. These stars are usually the most prominent population of dwarf
spheroidal galaxies, but it has been shown (Gallart et al. 1994;
Aparicio & Gallart 1994) that they are also observable in dwarf
irregular galaxies. This will open the door to the study of the earliest
star-formation processes taking place in these galaxies. The
star-formation history of the Local Group galaxies is a crucial piece of
information for answering basic questions about the evolutionary history
of the group.