New stream of stars in Milky Way

Feb 08, 2011 |

London

Planetary scientists claim to have discovered a new stream of stars in the Milky Way, the galaxy in which our Solar System is located.
The international study, led by Dr Mary Williams of the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, is part of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) and used data from Siding Spring Observatory to measure the velocities of 250,000 stars.

The new “Aquarius Stream” is named after the constellation of Aquarius in which it resides. The stream of stars is a remnant of a smaller galaxy in our cosmic neighbourhood, which was pulled apart by the gravitational pull of the Milky Way about 700 million years ago. —PTI

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