2014ApJ...790L...5B -
Astrophys. J., 790, L5 (2014/July-3)
The most distant stars in the Milky Way.
BOCHANSKI J.J., WILLMAN B., CALDWELL N., SANDERSON R., WEST A.A., STRADER J. and BROWN W.
Abstract (from CDS):
We report on the discovery of the most distant Milky Way (MW) stars known to date: ULAS J001535.72+015549.6 and ULAS J074417.48+253233.0. These stars were selected as M giant candidates based on their infrared and optical colors and lack of proper motions. We spectroscopically confirmed them as outer halo giants using the MMT/Red Channel spectrograph. Both stars have large estimated distances, with ULAS J001535.72+015549.6 at 274±74 kpc and ULAS J074417.48+253233.0 at 238±64 kpc, making them the first MW stars discovered beyond 200 kpc. ULAS J001535.72+015549.6 and ULAS J074417.48+253233.0 are both moving away from the Galactic center at 52±10 km/s and 24±10 km/s, respectively. Using their distances and kinematics, we considered possible origins such as: tidal stripping from a dwarf galaxy, ejection from the MW's disk, or membership in an undetected dwarf galaxy. These M giants, along with two inner halo giants that were also confirmed during this campaign, are the first to map largely unexplored regions of our Galaxy's outer halo.
Abstract Copyright:
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Journal keyword(s):
Galaxy: halo - Galaxy: stellar content - Galaxy: structure - stars: late-type
Simbad objects:
50
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