Formation Of The Milky Way

We review observational evidence bearing on the formation of a prototypical large spiral galaxy, the Milky Way. New ground- and space-based studies of globular star clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies provide a wealth of information to constrain theories of galaxy formation. It appears likely that the Milky Way formed by an combination of rapid, dissipative collapse and mergers, but the relative contributions of these two mechanisms remain controversial. New evidence, however, indicates that initial star and star cluster formation occurred simultaneously over a volume that presently extends to twice the distance of the Magellanic Clouds. Key Words : astronomy, astrophysics I. OVERVIEW It is an honour to open this meeting, with its enormous range in scope from the solar system to the furthest realms by addressing a topic in which our Korean hosts are making so many important contributions. The goals of this review are to examine, however fleetingly, six themes, and thereby to impar..