2004/12/31 by A. P. Huxor, N. R. Tanvir, M. J. Irwin +5 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09086.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 360 (2005) 993-1006 · Revised according to referee comments. Accpeted by MNRAS
arxiv created 2005/04/08 · openalex publication_date 2005/06/15 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
We present three new clusters discovered in the halo of M31 which, although having globular-like colours and luminosities, have unusually large half-light radii, ~30 pc. They lie at projected galactocentric distances of ≈15 to ≈35 kpc. These objects begin to fill the gap in parameter space between globular clusters and dwarf spheroidals, and are unlike any clusters found in the Milky Way, or elsewhere to date. Colour-magnitude diagrams, integrated photometric properties and derived King profile fit parameters are given, and we discuss possible origins of these clusters and their relationships to other populations.