This work describes the self-teaching educational-research project involving many-body computer simulations with the objective of studying galaxy dynamics. This self-teaching project guides a student through numerical models and computer simulations of galaxy dynamics in detail. It shows the numerical construction of near-equilibrium galaxy models and how these artificial galaxies are evolved. Evolution is based on the Barnes-Hut algorithm and space division with a three-dimensional Hilbert�s curve generated by a geometry-based technique. The educational-research part of this project shows how to simulate the evolution of the Milky Way galaxy, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and all of the 19 known satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, including recently discovered ones. A future evolution of the Local Group is simulated in the collision of two disk galaxies representing Andromeda galaxy (M31) and the Milky Way galaxy; Galaxy harassment is also briefly explored. Modified Newtonian Dynamics simulation as a possible rival of dark matter is described. Models were evolved for up to 8.1 billion years.

e-mail: "Jakub.Schwarzmeier at gmail.com"