Stellar Caravan.
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| Title: | Stellar Caravan. |
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| Authors: | Krywko, Jacek (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Scientific American. Jun2026, Vol. 334 Issue 6, p18-19. 2p. 1 Color Photograph. |
| Subjects: | Milky Way, Galactic dynamics, Dwarf galaxies, Galactic Center, Astronomical observations, Stars |
| Abstract: | The article focuses on recent studies examining the sun's migration within the Milky Way galaxy. It reports that the sun was born near the crowded galactic center about 4.6 billion years ago and later moved roughly 10,000 light-years outward to its current location, accompanied by thousands of "solar twin" stars with similar mass and chemical composition. The studies suggest that this migration overcame the Milky Way's corotation barrier—a gravitational feature created by the galaxy's central bar—possibly because the barrier was not fully formed and the combined gravitational forces of the bar, spiral arms, and the nearby Sagittarius dwarf galaxy facilitated the journey. The findings are based on data from the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite, which cataloged over 6,500 solar twins near Earth, though some experts caution about potential biases in the sample and uncertainties in the timing of these events. [Extracted from the article] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | The article focuses on recent studies examining the sun's migration within the Milky Way galaxy. It reports that the sun was born near the crowded galactic center about 4.6 billion years ago and later moved roughly 10,000 light-years outward to its current location, accompanied by thousands of "solar twin" stars with similar mass and chemical composition. The studies suggest that this migration overcame the Milky Way's corotation barrier—a gravitational feature created by the galaxy's central bar—possibly because the barrier was not fully formed and the combined gravitational forces of the bar, spiral arms, and the nearby Sagittarius dwarf galaxy facilitated the journey. The findings are based on data from the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite, which cataloged over 6,500 solar twins near Earth, though some experts caution about potential biases in the sample and uncertainties in the timing of these events. [Extracted from the article] |
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| ISSN: | 00368733 |
