The Discovery of Tidal Tails around the Globular Cluster NGC 5466

2005/11/28 by V. Belokurov, N. W. Evans, M. J. Irwin +2 · 5 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Cluster (spacecraft) #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy groups and clusters #Globular cluster #Horizontal branch #Proper motion #Sky #Star cluster #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/500362

published as Astrophys.J.637:L29-L32,2006 · 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to The Astrophysical Journal (Letters)

arxiv created 2005/11/28 · openalex publication_date 2006/01/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2018/06/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

We report the discovery of tidal tails around the high-latitude Galactic globular cluster NGC 5466 in Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. Neural networks are used to reconstruct the probability distribution of cluster stars in ug r i z space. The tails are clearly visible once extragalactic contaminants and field stars have been eliminated. They extend ~4° on the sky, corresponding to ~1 kpc in projected length. The orientation of the tails is in good agreement with the cluster's Galactic orbit, as judged from the proper-motion data.

Citations

• A Low‐Latitude Halo Stream around the Milky Way
• A Catalog of Parameters for Globular Clusters in the Milky Way

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