Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Ruppeiner, George

Area of Concentration

Physics

Abstract

Previous attempts at picturing the Milky Way disk identified substructure called galactic wiggles. Photometric data was obtained from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 14 (DR14) and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS) Data Release 2 (DR2) to replicate those results using new methodology and more recent experimental data. In preliminary analysis,two regions of the sky had discrepancies and were analyzed with greater detail. The abnormal star count in these regions was attributed to an overestimation of extinction that introduced stars that were not part of the stellar population being studied. The stellar density of the Milky Way disk was statistically determined and plotted using statistical photometric parallax. I identified potential structures and linked six of the seven to galactic wiggles, the Hercules Aquila Cloud, and the Hercules Halo Stream. I also identified a new structure, the far north wiggle, 40-50 kpc away in the direction of the galactic anti-center.

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