Open AccessTracing the star stream through M31 using planetary nebula kinematics
Author(s) -
Merrett H. R.,
Kuijken K.,
Merrifield M. R.,
Romanowsky A. J.,
Douglas N. G.,
Napolitano N. R.,
Arnaboldi M.,
Capaccioli M.,
Freeman K. C.,
Gerhard O.,
Evans N. W.,
Wilkinson M. I.,
Halliday C.,
Bridges T. J.,
Carter D.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2003.07367.x
Subject(s) - physics , planetary nebula , astrophysics , astronomy , galaxy , kinematics , stars , stellar kinematics , nebula , spectrograph , orbit (dynamics) , milky way , spectral line , classical mechanics , engineering , aerospace engineering
We present a possible orbit for the Southern Stream of stars in M31, which connects it to the Northern Spur. Support for this model comes from the dynamics of planetary nebulae (PNe) in the disc of M31: analysis of a new sample of 2611 PNe obtained using the Planetary Nebula Spectrograph reveals ∼20 objects with kinematics inconsistent with the normal components of the galaxy, but which lie at the right positions and velocities to connect the two photometric features via this orbit. The satellite galaxy M32 is coincident with the stream both in position and velocity, adding weight to the hypothesis that the stream comprises its tidal debris.