The coolest and oldest objects in the galaxy measured from Calar Alto
Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 05:21
in Astronomy & Space
Spiral galaxies as our own are made up from several structural components. Their most outstanding part is a flat disc where stars and gas trace graceful spiral arms. In the centre of the disc we find the bulge, a dense and round accumulation of stars. And all this is surrounded by a spherical halo very difficult to perceive, due to its low stellar density. The Sun is a normal member of the disk of our galaxy. This disk, seen edge-on from our planet, draws on the sky the shiny shape of the Milky Way, a tenuous ring of light that embraces all the celestial sphere. The Milky Way can be better seen in moonless summer and winter nights from dark places...