星流
星流(英語:stellar streams)是沿着一条狭长轨道围绕星系运动,由众多恒星组成的链状结构,是球状星团或者矮星系受到較大星系引力的巨大潮汐作用而逐渐变形、瓦解、撕裂形成的。截至2007年,已经在银河系中发现了十餘个星流,由几千到几亿颗恒星组成,跨度从数万光年到数百万光年不等。一个典型的星流是1994年发现的人马座星流,包含了大约1亿颗恒星,跨度超过100万光年,发源于人马座矮橢圓星系。对星流中恒星的速度、位置的分析能够给出其起源的信息。随着时间的推移,这些星流会逐渐被银河系吸收。对星流的研究表明银河系在形成过程中吸积和吞并了众多矮星系,改变了对传统星系形成理论的认识。星流还为研究星系中暗物质的分布提供了有效的途径。

這是一份星流列表。星流是指繞著星系運行的恆星群體。它曾經是一個球狀星團或矮星系,但現在已被潮汐力撕裂並沿著軌道拉長[1]。下文銀河星流列表中的一個例外是麥哲倫流,由氣體(主要是氫)組成,然而2023年已有描述其內有一群恆星[2]。
本星系群的星流
銀河系的星流

| 名稱 | 起源 | 質量 (太陽質量) |
長度 (光年) |
組成 | 發現年度 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 大角星流 | 已潰散的矮星系 | 未知 | 未知 | 缺乏重元素的老恆星 | 1971[5] |
| 麥哲倫星流 | 大和小麥哲倫雲 | 2億 | 1百萬 | 氫氣體 | 1972 |
| 人馬座星流 | 人馬座矮橢圓星系 | 1億 | 1百萬 | 各種恆星 | 1994 |
| 珍珠星流 (Helmi stream) |
已潰散的矮星系 | 1千萬—1億 | 已完整環繞銀河系數次 | 缺乏重元素的老恆星 | 1999 |
| 帕羅馬5星流 (巨蛇星流) |
球狀星團帕羅馬5 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 老年恆星 | 2001 |
| 室女座星流 | 已潰散的矮星系 | 30,000 | 2001 | ||
| 麒麟座環 | 大犬座矮星系 | 1億 | 200,000 | 中等年齡的恆星 | 2002 |
| 反銀心星流 | 已潰散的矮星系 | 未知 | 30,000 | 老年恆星 | 2006 |
| GD-1 | 球狀星團 | 貧金屬星 | 2006[6] | ||
| NGC5466星流 45度潮汐流 |
球狀星團NGC 5466 | 10,000 | 60,000 | 非常老的恆星 | 2006[7][8] |
| 孤兒星流 | 未知(因此得名) | 未知[9] | 20,000 | 老年恆星 | 2006 |
| 阿格隆星流 (Acheron stream) |
球狀星團/ | 2007[7][10] | |||
| 牧夫座III星流 | 嵌入於冥河星流中,且可能是其前身 | 2007[7][10] | |||
| 海狸星流 | 球狀星團 | 2007[7][10] | |||
| 萊特星流 | 球狀星團 | 10,000 | 18,000 | 老年、貧金屬星 | 2007[10] |
| 冥河星流 | 已潰散的矮星系 (可能是牧夫座III星流) | 2007[7][10] | |||
| 鯨魚座極地星流 | 已潰散的矮星系 | 未知 | 未知 | 老年恆星 | 2009[11] |
| 寶瓶座星流 | 已潰散的矮星系 | 未知 | 30,000 | Old stars | 2010 |
| Lamost 1 | 被擾亂的球狀星團 | 21,000 | 中年星 | 2015[12] | |
| 鳳凰座星流 | 被擾亂的球狀星團 | 未知 | 8,000 | 「非常」老的恆星[13][14] | 2016[15] |
| S1星流 | 被擾亂的矮星系 | 94 | 2017[16][17] | ||
| 芬布爾圖爾星流 (Fimbulthul stream) |
球狀星團 半人馬座ω | 318 | 2019[18] | ||
| 雙魚-波江星流 | 被破壞的星團或星協 | 2,000 | 1,300 | 非常年輕的(~1.20億年)且鄰近(260 - 870 光年)的星流[19]。 | 2019 [20] |
| Nyx stream | 一個潰散的矮星系殘餘 — 很久以前與銀河系合併 | 大約200顆恆星 | 2020[21][22] | ||
| 幽靈星流 (Specter stream) |
以潰散的超微弱矮星系 | 2,000 | 18,000 | 2022[23]。 |
仙女座星系的星流
Template:部分需要更多引用的訊息
| 名稱 | 起源 | 質量 (太陽質量) |
長度 (光年) |
成員 | 發現年度 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M31巨星流 | |||||
| 仙女座東北方的星流[24] | 2004 | ||||
| 西北潮汐星流 (潮汐星流E與F)[25] |
以潰散的矮星系 | 2009 | |||
| 西南潮汐星流[25] | 2009 | ||||
| 東側的雲氣 | |||||
| 北支線星流 | |||||
| A星流 | |||||
| B星流 | |||||
| C星流 | |||||
| D星流 |
本星系群以外的星流

由於新的深空巡天,例如DESI遺留影像調查,預計未來將發現大量星流。Martínez-Delgado 等人於2023年進行初步搜尋,搜尋了389個星系,找到 89 個擁有星流的候選星系(佔 22.9%)。他們計畫搜尋約3,100個星系,可能會找到數百個候選星系。過去較不靈敏的巡天,如SDSS只能偵測到最明亮的星流[26]。
| 名稱 | 位置 | 起源 | 質量 (太陽質量) |
長度 (光年) |
成員 | 特徵 | 發現年度 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 年輕的藍色潮汐星流[27] | NGC 5128 | 氣體碎片或 矮星系 |
2002 | ||||
| 947-4966星流 | NGC 4013[28] | 低軌道傾角 前矮衛星星系 |
大型環形結構 | 2008 | |||
| 9477-J0949.4-STO 749988 (SMS J 4977449 tI947) | NGC 5907[29] | 低質量衛星星系吸積 | 多個環狀環 | 2009 | |||
| NGC 4651[30] | 衛星星系吸積 | 狹窄的噴射狀結構與周圍的碎屑殼層 | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 3521[30] | 衛星星系吸積 | 噴射狀結構與周圍碎屑殼 | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 7531[30] | 衛星星系吸積 | 周圍的碎屑殼 | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 1084[30] | 衛星星系吸積 | 三個寬度相近的巨大分離煙柱 | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 4216[30] | 衛星星系吸積 | 衛星星系持續的潮汐擾動 被視為從前身衛星星系延伸出的長尾 |
2010 | ||||
| NGC 1055[30] | 衛星星系吸積 | 清晰盒子形狀的內光環點綴著無數連貫的尖刺 | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 5291[31] | 星系交互作用 | 南北兩側分別有兩個獨立的潮汐尾 | ? | ||||
| 向日葵花瓣 | M 63(NGC 5055)[32] | 矮衛星星系吸積 | 4×108 | 1979/2011 | |||
| NGC 5387[33] | 衛星星系吸積 | 6×108 | 11.7 kpc | 年輕的恆星 | 強恆星形成,貧金屬星 | 2014 | |
| 帽子上的羽毛 | M 104(NGC 4594)[34] | 重大合併 | 極度富含金屬 | 2021 | |||
| NGC 4303[35] | 是被M61重力撕裂的矮星系遺留物 | 2×108 | 50 kpc | 薇拉·魯賓天文台首次發現的星流 | 2025 |
相關條目
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延伸閱讀
- McConnachie, Alan W.; Ibata, Rodrigo; Martin, Nicolas; et al. The Large-scale Structure of the Halo of the Andromeda Galaxy. II. Hierarchical Structure in the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey. The Astrophysical Journal. 20 November 2018, 868 (1): 55. Bibcode:2018ApJ...868...55M. arXiv:1810.08234
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.
外部連結
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 5907 (19 June 2008)
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 4013 (7 February 2008)
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 4651 (15 April 2010)
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 1055 (24 April 2010)
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 3521 (15 September 2011)