If the slides all seem too mind-boggling, try this alternative.....
boggle your mind on Kenneth C. Freeman's and Joss Bland-Hawthorn's
excellent and
very influential 2002 review paper (in ARAA) about our Own Galaxy, which pioneered the approach of "near-field cosmology":
ftp://www.aao.gov.au/pub/local/jbh/araa/Galleys/
Download the file
ARAA_2002.pdf, and you will find that this is a clear and well-written description of the intricate (requiring knowledge of nearly all of astronomy and astrophysics!) modern approach to characterizing our own Galaxy and its evolution.
See also:
RAVE
http://www.rave-survey.aip.de/rave/p...ject/index.jsp
GALAH
http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/galah/home.html