INT-WFS + 2dFGRS: The Local Space & Luminosity Density

Abstract

We discuss the quantification of the local galaxy population and the impact of the ``New Era of Wide-Field Astronomy'' on this field, and, in particular, systematic errors in the measurement of the Luminosity Function. New results from the 2dFGRS are shown in which some of these selection effects have been removed. We introduce an INT-WFS project which will further reduce the selection biases. We show that there is a correlation between the surface brightness and the luminosity of galaxies and that new technologies are having a big impact on this field. Finally selection criteria from different surveys are modelled and it is shown that some of the major selection effects are surface brightness selection effects.