Comments on: Milky Way Creates a Mess by Stealing Stars from Nearby Galaxies

By: Cusp

Cusp — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:04:12 +0000

Astro-freak – all of science is models. Didn't you know that? Or do you think model means "little plastic version of"?

By: Haplo

Haplo — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:16:26 +0000

Pasta? Spaguetti? Anyone needs more proof of the Flying Spaguetti Monster?

By: Gravelz

Gravelz — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:06:57 +0000

All hail his noodlieness, the flying spaghetti monster!

RAmen

By: Astrofreak

Astrofreak — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:38:41 +0000

Oooh, another "model" of something..

By: Jon Hanford

Jon Hanford — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:37:50 +0000

Recent observations have found stellar streams around M 31 (5 & counting), NGC 5907 (with an excellent deep image acquired by amateur R. Jay Gabany), NGC 4013, M 83 & M 104, among others. These observations lend credence to the theory that galaxies (at least in modern times but probably earlier) grew in size and mass by cannabalizing smaller galaxies around them. SDSS has certainly proved its worth by mapping many stellar streams around our own Milky Way, but deeper, more sensitive observations by the sky survey scopes like PanStarrs & LSST will almost certainly find many more. SDSS has provided astronomers with just a taste of what's out there in the MW halo.

By: Trippy

Trippy — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:28:53 +0000

Nancy forgot to mention that the image is 1,000,000 light years across, so our solar system would be one fifth of one quarter of the way out from the center, or about 19 pixels frim the center of the image.

Indeed, the entire galaxy that we traditionally think of is contained within the central 80 odd pixels of this image

In other words, something like this (scale isn't quite right though) http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/2769467970_e3c37d2eb9_o.jpg

By: mirroreye

mirroreye — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:10:26 +0000

fascinating stuff, redefining our home … nice if a "you are here" arrow was included though, if only for a sense our relationship to all this.

By: B3ast

B3ast — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:36:38 +0000

Who stold' the stars from the star jar?!