A stream of at least 150 ancient variable stars has been confirmed to extend some 130,000 light-years beyond our own galaxy’s stellar halo — on the fringes of the Intergalactic Medium, where aside from hot gas and dark matter, space-time becomes as sparse as the deep Sahara. The central disk of our Milky Way [continue reading]
Yale astronomers have caught the Milky Way having a snack. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, researchers have discovered a stream, of stars believed to be the remnant of an ancient star cluster slowly being ingested by the Milky Way, Earth’s home galaxy. A map of stars in the outer region of the Milky Way [continue reading]
October 12, 2012 The Umbrella Galaxy, a spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices Image Credit: R Jay Gabany (Blackbird Observatory) The Umbrella Galaxy (designated NGC 4651 and Arp 189) is a spiral galaxy located on the outskirt of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies of which it is a member, at a distance not well determined that [continue reading]