The hercules-aquila cloud

V. Belokurov, N. W. Evans, E. F. Bell, M. J. Irwin, P. C. Hewett, S. Koposov, C. M. Rockosi, G. Gilmore, D. B. Zucker, M. Fellhauer, M. I. Wilkinson, D. M. Bramich, S. Vidrih, H. W. Rix, T. C. Beers, D. P. Schneider, J. C. Barentine, H. Brewington, J. Brinkmann, M. HarvanekJ. Krzesinski, D. Long, K. Pan, S. A. Snedden, O. Malanushenko, V. Malanushenko

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Abstract

We present evidence for a substantial overdensity of stars in the direction of the constellations of Hercules and Aquila. The cloud is centered at a Galactic longitude of l ≈ 40° and extends above and below the Galactic plane by at least 50°. Given its off-centeredness and height, it is unlikely that the Hercules-Aquila cloud is related to the bulge or thick disk. More likely, this is a new structural component of the Galaxy that passes through the disk. The cloud stretches ∼80° in longitude. Its heliocentric distance lies between 10 and 20 kpc so that the extent of the cloud in projection is ∼20 kpc by ∼15 kpc. It has an absolute magnitude of Mv = -13, and its stellar population appears to be comparable to, but somewhat more metal-rich than, M92.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)L89-L92
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume657
Issue number2 II
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 10 2007

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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