Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 107: 715-729, 1995 August


GALAXIES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS

Judith A. Irwin

Department of Physics, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, K7L 3N6
Electronic mail: irwin@astro.queensu.ca


ABSTRACT. Four questions are asked related to galaxies and their environments in the context of speculation as to which direction the field may go over the next decade. These are: What is a galaxy? Where does a galaxy end? Are galaxies open or closed? and How important are interactions? In the process, these questions touch upon some of the challenging problems facing us today in extragalactic astronomy, such as galaxy formation and evolution, the importance of environmental effects, and the nature and extent of dark matter.


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