Counting Stars Around the Large Magellanic Cloud

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

In the plane of the sky, the bar and spiral arm of the Large Magellanic Cloud appear to be surrounded by a large elliptical structure. This component can be seen in optical star counts, and its center does not coincide with the center of the stellar bar. We have attempted to determine the relative amount of mass contained in this additional component, in two cases: (1) that it is an ellipsoidal halo, and (2) that it is a disk, co-planar with the bar. Because of the asymmetric placement of the halo (or disk) relative to the bar, we assume that the central gravitational potential of this structure must be very broad. By simulating stellar orbits within the LMC for several different types of potentials, we hope to show whether this structure is an inclined disk or a three-dimensional ellipsoidal halo, and to explore the question of stability of such configurations. A. J. R. would like to thank the NSF for support through the REU program (NSF Grant No. 9988007), and USNO for hospitality.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Counting Stars Around the Large Magellanic Cloud does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Counting Stars Around the Large Magellanic Cloud, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Counting Stars Around the Large Magellanic Cloud will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1726252

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.