De Vaucouleur's Galaxy

The present evaluation of computational results obtained using de Vaucouleur's pioneering model of the Galaxy disk and spheroid distributions gives attention to the spheroid's axis ratio and normalization, the slope of the spheroid luminosity function, and the Wielen dip and faint end of the disk luminosity function. The de Vaucouleurs Galaxy model can be used to plan systematic observations and to estimate the contamination of field galactic stars in a variety of observations; it is useful to have a standard set of expected number densities and color distributions with which to compare future deep exposures. 10 refs