= Karen L. Masters
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{wiki=Karen_Masters}
<Karen L. Masters> studies the structure and evolution of <galaxies>. Her review with <Jerry A. Sellwood> connects observed <spiral arms> to the <dynamics> of <galactic disks>, comparing proposed mechanisms with observations and numerical <numerical simulations>.
A visible spiral pattern need not be a permanent set of the same <stars>. Recurrent patterns can rearrange a <galactic disk> and increase random stellar <motion>; continuing activity then depends in part on the dissipative <gas> component. Their review also used the number of spiral arms to discuss how much <mass> resides in the thin <galactic disk> relative to its surrounding halo.<Spirals in Galaxies by Jerry A. Sellwood and Karen L. Masters>[Abstract: gravitational instability, recurring transient spirals, gas dissipation and arm-number constraints]{ref}
\Image[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Redirect/file/Karen_Masters,_astronomer,_December_2017.jpg?width=260]
{title=Portrait of <Karen L. Masters>}
{description=Via Wikimedia Commons; credits and usage information are on the linked source file page.}
{source=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karen_Masters,_astronomer,_December_2017.jpg}
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