The Andromeda Stream

Abstract

The existence of a stream of tidally stripped stars from the Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy demonstrates that the Milky Way is still in the process of accreting mass. More recently, an extensive stream of stars has been uncovered in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy (M31), revealing that it too is cannibalizing a small companion. This paper reports the recent observations of this stream, determining it spatial and kinematic properties, and tracing its three-dimensional structure, as well as describing future observations and what we may learn about the Andromeda galaxy from this giant tidal stream.

3 Pages. Refereed contribution to the 5th Galacto Chemodynamics conference held in Swinburne, July 2003. Accepted for publication in PASA

References in corpus (8)

• Where are the missing galactic satellites?
• A 2MASS All-Sky View of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy: I. Morphology of the Sagittarius Core and Tidal Arms
• A giant stream of metal-rich stars in the halo of the galaxy M31
• Great Circle tidal streams: evidence for a nearly spherical massive dark halo around the Milky Way
• Evidence for Stellar Substructure in the Halo and Outer Disk of M31
• A Prescription for Building the Milky Way's Halo from Disrupted Satellites
• The three dimensional structure of the giant stellar stream in Andromeda
• Starcounts Redivivus: III. A Possible Detection of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy at b=-40

Cited by in corpus (15)

• Spitzer/MIPS Infrared Imaging of M31: Further Evidence for a Spiral/Ring Composite Structure
• The large-scale structure of the halo of the Andromeda galaxy II. Hierarchical structure in the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey
• A Minor Axis Surface Brightness Profile for M31
• Investigating the Andromeda Stream: III. A Young Shell System in M31
• Dynamics and Stellar Content of the Giant Southern Stream in M31. I. Keck Spectroscopy of Red Giant Stars
• Dynamics and Stellar Content of the Giant Southern Stream in M31. II. Interpretation
• A New Giant Stellar Structure in the Outer Halo of M31
• A Keck/DEIMOS Kinematic Study of Andromeda IX: dark matter on the smallest galactic scales
• The AAT/WFI survey of the Monoceros Ring and Canis Major Dwarf galaxy: I. from l = (193 - 276)o
• Contrasting the chemical evolution of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies
• Distant Field BHB Stars III: Identification of a probable outer halo stream at Galactocentric distance r = 70 kpc
• Probing the Sagittarius stream with blue horizontal branch stars
• A Dwarf Disrupting -- Andromeda XXVII and the North West Stream
• The nature of the Eastern Extent in the outer halo of M31
• Bars, Spiral Structure, and Secular Evolution in Disk Galaxies