Andromeda Galaxy (M31) Five Times Bigger Than Thought

noboundaries-au · 10th January 2007, 1:52 PM

Andromeda Galaxy Five Times Bigger Than Thought

The discovery of several large, metal-poor stars located far from the center of the Andromeda galaxy suggests our nearest galactic neighbor might be up to five times larger than previously thought.

The newfound stars are massive, bloated stars known as red giants. Although found far beyond the most visible portion of Andromeda—its swirling disk—the stars are still gravitationally bound to the galaxy and make up part of its extended "halo."

"We're typically used to thinking of Andromeda as this tiny speck of light, but the actual size of the halo…extends to a very large radius and it actually fills a substantial portion of the night sky," said study team member Jason Kalirai of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The finding, presented here Sunday at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, suggests Andromeda is at least one million light-years across and could help settle a discrepancy between Andromeda and the Milky Way that has long puzzled astronomers.

More Here: http://space.com/scienceastronomy/07...meda_halo.html

Andromeda, as it looks if observed from Seattle, WA at 8 pm PST on Jan. 7, 2007. The discovery of halo stars located far from Andromeda's center suggest our nearest galactic neighbor is much bigger than previously thought. Credit: Stellarium Planetarium, GALAX team, NASA, Caltech

taztassio · 10th January 2007, 5:38 PM

ahh, interesting. Could this also explain other gravitational discrepancies in the solar system.

10th January 2007, 1:52 PM	#1
noboundaries-au Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Canberra, ACT Posts: 7,600	Andromeda Galaxy (M31) Five Times Bigger Than Thought Andromeda Galaxy Five Times Bigger Than Thought The discovery of several large, metal-poor stars located far from the center of the Andromeda galaxy suggests our nearest galactic neighbor might be up to five times larger than previously thought. The newfound stars are massive, bloated stars known as red giants. Although found far beyond the most visible portion of Andromeda—its swirling disk—the stars are still gravitationally bound to the galaxy and make up part of its extended "halo." "We're typically used to thinking of Andromeda as this tiny speck of light, but the actual size of the halo…extends to a very large radius and it actually fills a substantial portion of the night sky," said study team member Jason Kalirai of the University of California, Santa Cruz. The finding, presented here Sunday at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, suggests Andromeda is at least one million light-years across and could help settle a discrepancy between Andromeda and the Milky Way that has long puzzled astronomers. More Here: http://space.com/scienceastronomy/07...meda_halo.html Andromeda, as it looks if observed from Seattle, WA at 8 pm PST on Jan. 7, 2007. The discovery of halo stars located far from Andromeda's center suggest our nearest galactic neighbor is much bigger than previously thought. Credit: Stellarium Planetarium, GALAX team, NASA, Caltech __________________ Successful Trades: inspectr, reetzy, sammy_b0i, Mr_LeE Last edited by noboundaries-au; 10th January 2007 at 2:00 PM.

10th January 2007, 5:38 PM	#2
taztassio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Melb Posts: 918	ahh, interesting. Could this also explain other gravitational discrepancies in the solar system. __________________ Main:4800x2,2gb ocz plat eb,raid 74gb raptors,320gb 7200.10,SLI DR Exp,Lian Li pc75,Dell 2407,8800gts320 SFF PC:P4 3.2E,1gb pro xl,200gb 7200.7,6800 Successful Trades:GSX-R,balckjok3r,rommy,Neil, TerminalVeloCD,Random_Ninja,karsa,Ronza,-=Monty=-,wmmartin, Sky95,stergiopilus,DarkStyle,auslagger,Xero,red_ma rine,clubsport,kmeck0,Mad 4 Air,gotbean,-KoMoD0-,DaveS,mrturkey,ANTH101,spacecabbage,ymcandrew,[ r2 ],NoOzL,AMDPOWERFIST, hawks667