Streams of "rebel" stars are blazing new trails to and from our galaxy's centre instead of travelling in circles around it, according to a new study of 6000 nearby stars. The stars appear to be nudged into their new grooves by the Milky Way's spiral arms.
About a trillion stars trace out a pinwheel that makes up the Milky Way. Most of the stars in the five main spiral arms take more or less circular paths around the galactic centre. The Sun, located midway down one of the arms, takes about 100 million years to complete one loop.
Now, astronomers have caught a fifth of the stars within 1000 light-years of the Sun taking detours. The stars are still moving around the Milky Way's centre, but they are taking more elongated routes, trooping more directly toward and away from the heart of the galaxy.
But though they are flowing in orderly streams, the stars themselves are a motley crew. They vary greatly in age, which suggests they did not form at the same time and place.
"They resemble casual travel companions more than family members," says Benoit Famaey, an astronomer at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium. He is lead author of the study, which was published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
About a trillion stars trace out a pinwheel that makes up the Milky Way. Most of the stars in the five main spiral arms take more or less circular paths around the galactic centre. The Sun, located midway down one of the arms, takes about 100 million years to complete one loop.
Now, astronomers have caught a fifth of the stars within 1000 light-years of the Sun taking detours. The stars are still moving around the Milky Way's centre, but they are taking more elongated routes, trooping more directly toward and away from the heart of the galaxy.
But though they are flowing in orderly streams, the stars themselves are a motley crew. They vary greatly in age, which suggests they did not form at the same time and place.
"They resemble casual travel companions more than family members," says Benoit Famaey, an astronomer at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium. He is lead author of the study, which was published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
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Looks awesome!