Structure and Evolution of Stellar Populations in Local Group Galaxies

We use detailed modeling of stellar populations of nearby galaxies to calculate population parameters. Our sample of galaxies includes most galaxies of the Local Group and several more distant giant galaxies. Available data are sufficient to decompose galaxies into the nucleus, the metal rich core, the bulge, the halo, the young and old disks, and the dark halo. We compare mass-to-luminosity ratios and colors of bulges, disks and halos with results of models of galactic chemical evolution. The luminosity weighted mean of the mass-to-luminosity ratio of visible stellar population is M/L_B = 4 +- 1.4 in solar units. This ratio is surprisingly constant for galaxies of very different absolute magnitude.