Fimbulthul stream is shown in blue. The ω Cen cluster is just below it.

Fimbulthul is a tidal stellar stream torn off from Omega Centauri, the largest globular cluster of our Milky Way galaxy. The stream contains 309 known stars stretching over 18° in the constellations of Hydra and Centaurus, matching the same age as the globular cluster. Omega Centauri is thought to be the nucleus of a dwarf galaxy that merged with the Milky Way.[1]

The stream was discovered in the Gaia DR2 star database that determined the direction, distances and motion of over one billion stars.[2]

The name Fimbulthul is a river in Norse mythology.

See also

References

  1. ^ Noyola, Eva; Gebhardt, Karl; Bergmann, Marcel (2008). "Gemini and Hubble Space Telescope Evidence for an Intermediate Mass Black Hole in omega Centauri". The Astrophysical Journal. 676 (2): 1008. arXiv:0801.2782. Bibcode:2008ApJ...676.1008N. doi:10.1086/529002. S2CID 208867075.
  2. ^ Catastrophic tale of the most massive globular cluster of the Milky Way Khyati Malhan, Apr 23, 2019

External links


Milky Way
Categories